Peaches

His liver like a lace doily alcohol pickled him thin He'd been turned down, all over town no one ever took him in

There was an old man, I once knew

Peaches was the name he used

He was the drunk, set on our trunk

his body old and abused

 Sharing his beer with an old horse

who caroused in the end stall

Each day by three, they'd walk by me

and stumble but never fall

 

His liver was a lace doily

alcohol pickled him thin

He'd been turned down, all over town

no one ever took him in

He drank his beer with ole Nellie

she could tip a bottle too

Swig and sway,  like Don Quixote

as they staggered, swirling, brew

 

We were headed for the races

this blustery afternoon

Each planned the trip, we had to ship

I knew we'd be leaving soon

From where we trained at the fairground

we carted them to the track

Where all would race, and take what place

each earned in front or in back

 

Peaches rode in back of the truck

so he could drink the whole way

My uncle said, he'd soon be dead

drinking had seen his decay

We sat apart from others there

he and I were best of pals

He'd tell me tales, of life’s travails

while I ogled all the gals

 

That day he shared a sordid tale

of pain he caused his own son

He had shouldered blame, bore the shame

for this thing that he had done

Back when he was just a young man

a pillar of support

He took his boy, his life’s great joy

to play their favorite sport

 

They went to a picnic that day

he had drank one too many

On the way, to watch his son play

of fears he hadn't any

His boy was riding in the back

not thinking they skipped the seat belt

He'd rolled his car, the door ajar

surprise was all he had felt

 

His boy was tossed out in a field

sweet clover of timothy

The child's light hair, seen lying there

 remembered so vividly

"I was a Veterinarian"

said Peaches to my surprise

"I went insane, called out in vain

but God never heard my cries"

 

"So now I ride where I belong

In back of my self-made bar

Hoping he, will come to take me

by tossing me from the car"

 Just then a tear fell from his cheek

the pain enveloped me too

Here cried a man, much deeper than

any of us ever knew

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Author's Note

Who can truly say that only they know the heart of another soul? The sad truth of this is that it is a true telling of an actual event.The people I met through the years engrained their stories in my mind. Where I wrote them down and stored them. All I met there were at odds with life. So I suppose judge not lest you be judged. With Peaches I realized his fascination with me was partly my youth and part my resemblance to the treasure he had lost. May he find peace in his afterlife so denied him in life.

Reviews

[Kristallo]

"Here cried a man, much deeper than
any of us ever knew" This has a wonderful message, it reminds me so much of Shakespeare's "The Comedy of Errors" where Adriana says (one of my favorite Shakesperian quotes"

A wretched soul, bruised with adversity,
We bid be quiet when we hear it cry;
But were we burdened with like weight of pain,
As much or more would we ourselves complain

This man deeply lamented a horror from his past, and in consuming guilt, he consumed alcohol to assuage his inner torment- and others throughout the town would never bother to guess his reasons for being a drunk, it's easier and more fun to just mock him for his weaknesses. Society is a vicious thing. I really enjoyed reading this, Tate, it's very well written and such a strong piece. Glad I happened upon your writings tonight! Great work.

[ms. barrie]

the weight of guilt of one losing a loved one they treasured the most, breaks even the strongest among us, breaks their heart, soul and spirit till they're in the grips of such despair that they no longer care, as they slip into a whirlwind of doing what they can to become reunited with that person again. they're no longer really living, just existing. this is an amazing write, your choice of words you used brilliantly entwine with both with the rhyming and flow. great job, thanks for sharing

[M. Kari]

Oy the meter takes discipline! Well done and yes many a man on the street has a tale such as this to tell...and Sweet Baby James is among my faves of all time :)

[Mauricio Montoya]

Again excellent work one I can relate too in one way or another this subject has touch my life. Thank for sharing.

[Manpreet]

All i enjoyed is the story in this poem and unique style of expressing thoughts with words that you have Tate! I am interested to go through it once again with The Paget Meter to get the real technical essence of this work!

[Adam Crate]

Very well written and a great read. In a few short lines you developed this character (who I see is based on a real person) from a perceived drunken fool to a man with a haunted past. The ending was perfect, tying everything together into one bitter-sweet package.

[Priyankaabhilaashi]

Good show..!!

[ElizabethRaine]

Oh wow. This one left tears in my eyes. I don't know how you've come to know so many people and I feel so sorry for Peaches. How he wanted a fate like his son, because he felt it was his fault. Had he not been drinking, sure, his son would have lived. But...I just cannot even express how much this breaks my heart.

"He'd been turned down, all over town
no one ever took him in"
That sad, really sad. Someone should have took him in and helped him.

[b.platte]

Terrific poem.

You can never really be sure about someone until you take the time to know them. Very cool way of getting that across.

'His liver was a lace doily
alcohol pickled him thin'

That description was amazing!!

[Extant]

In the beginning I was reminded of Seabiscuit, the mighty little horse. But as it went on I could see every individual ache felt by Peaches. . . I wish I knew people who had tales to tell, sad, happy, or otherwise, unfortunately it turns out that every story I hear is heavy with lies and I lose the will to care, to even bother to remember. People want to buy sympathy and attention, not pertaining to Peaches, that is just how I've come to feel about it.