Zachary Chartkoff
So Little Sober
Listen. I'll be sober. In time. But not
today. No. Not today. I'll be – listen!
Sober, but not today. Often I thought
to be. Yes. Often. Listen. I often
thought to be. With the buckle and the boot.
With the whip and cutouts. All this passion
means so little sober. Listen. This brute
does not forgive. This lush life – this drunken
brute and painted raw silk and my brutal
henna hands – passion gobbling away
like silk, muslin, silk. Often silk is sour
to my tongue. And sober? Inedible.
I'll be sober. In time. But not today.
No. Not today. In time. I'll be sober.