Ode to Alcohol, Part II

It is, at once, the prison and the key
The marker of both sorrow and joy
Sometimes nectar, sometimes poison
It writes your story behind your back
It indulges truth while courting deceit
Sometimes bitter, sometimes sweet

It is water of life, it slakes our sadness
So swallow, but do not be swallowed
It can be both salvation or ruination
Our first friend and our last enemy
With us from wet-the-head to wake
For some a pleasure, for some a mistake

Uniting friends and dividing nations
It traces its tracks across our history
Drink a little, or a lot, or nothing at all,
It’s existence shapes and defines you
And yet all our science cannot explain
Just exactly what it does to your brain

Reviews

[ice]

"And yet all our science cannot explain
Just exactly what it does to your brain"

I can explain to them what it does to mine..it makes my mind feel warm and rested.
A glass or two of good Merlot, and the world shows as more peacefull, giving me a reprieve from its violent parts..for just a little while
enjoyed the poem

[Kenneth The Poet]

Beer is good, beer is good, beer is good, beer is good and...stuff!!!

Actually, this poem is excellent reading while drinking a beer.

[John Jackson (El Juero)]

Oatmeal...that is what becomes of the brain. Thank God for restorative capabilities within ourselves.

Excellent writing!

[Angela]

Again, amazing." Our first friend and our last enemy" Never truer words spoken. Again, a favorite.

[Lilly Negoi]

i remember reading once a saying...don't recall its exact origins, but it was something like "at the first glass, the man drinks the wine, at the second glass the wine drinks the wine, at the third glass, the wine drinks the man"...and your ode here reminded me of that.

[SpokenWord]

I never indulge in anything if my mind isn't right first meaning if I am angry I wont drink or party because that anger will be free to roam without my guidance. I am happy to past the party stage of life, it is much more nice to enjoy a glass of wine over dinner for the taste of it over the affects of it. Many blame alcohol for it destroying there life but to me it is losing control of ones ability to just say no more. Great write

[Ed Hart]

a loaf of bread
a jug of wine
and thou

[Coyote Poetry]

I don't know if we can blame war on alcohol. Most drinkers are social. There are a few who are hateful and no-one wants them around. I believe alcohol can open the mind up. I was told I could speak German with skill when I was drunk. Drugs if use with purpose and structure can allow the mind to see the world with better eyes. The Morrison and poor Janice used them for a death sentence. Sometime the world can overtake a mind. If you can see everything. Would make you crazy. I like the ending. The truth is. Drugs have been used for 5000 years to heal and open minds. Like all things. Too much will destroy the mind too. A excellent poem. You made me think this morning.
Coyote