“An Unopened Bottle of Rye” By Richard LeDue

Too many slurp down their own nothingness,

as if noise is superior to silence

and their words dead from a drought

are a better love poem

than yelling at each other

about spilling beer on the floor

or dirty dishes in the sink,

while I stare at the cupboard,

where I left an unopened bottle of rye

for the last nine months,

like I was a widow

ready to talk to a gravestone,

but knowing before I did anything,

that this poem wasn’t going to fix much,

except to make a few minutes

a little less thirsty. 

Richard LeDue (he/him) lives in Norway House, Manitoba, Canada. He has been published both online and in print and is the author of numerous books of poetry. His latest full length book, “Another Another,” was released from Alien Buddha Press in May 2025.