An old boyfriend invited me out for coffee today;
I discovered he was a member of AA
after watching him squirt a few shots of vodka
into his raspberry frappuccino. My mother started
drinking decaf after my father left her
and swore off caffeine because it made her feel
too much like she did when he kissed her:
dizzying, an ache, firecrackers popping at 4 am
by neighborhood children who accidentally burned
their cats’ hair off with them and had to wait
five years for it to grow back.
But when my ex’s hand mistakenly brushed mine
across the table, I remembered our first date
and how he wept so hard it ruined his erection
like a fire hose putting out water,
so I thought what the hell
and poured a few shots of vodka into mine too.