I’M DRY IN THE LAND DU VIN by Bradford Middleton

I been on holiday to the land du Vin
And when I got here I had nothing planned
Just drink & write & smoke & eat but that
First night I slept badly as an infection had
Taken root in my mouth, flared up and
Opened it up.  The pills made it hard to drink
And for 9 long sober days I sat, dry, deep
In the heart of wine country. Ha, I could
Almost hear the doctor snort as I left his
Office that morning but I was sure it wouldn’t
Last.  That night I slept the best I had in a
Few long weeks and decided to sit here
10 days sober producing these words without
The crotch of drinking involved.  Maybe,
After all, I got out of this death-grip the demon
Booze held over me but just you wait until
Tuesday, my first of six days off and back
Home it’s obvious what’s going to go down.

 Bradford Middleton was born in south-east London during the summer of 1971 and won his first poetry prize at the age of nine.  He then gave up writing poems for nearly twenty-five years and it wasn't until he landed in Brighton, knowing no one and having no money, that he began again.  Ten years later and he's been lucky enough to have had a few chapbooks published including a new one from Analog Submission Press entitled 'Flying through this Life like a Bottle Battling Gravity', his debut from Crisis Chronicles Press (Ohio, USA) and his second effort for Holy & Intoxicated Press (Hastings, UK).  He has read around the UK at various bars, venues and festivals and is always keen to get out and read to new crowds.  His poetry has also been or will be published shortly in the Chiron Review, Zygote in my Coffee, Section 8, Razur Cuts, Paper & Ink, Grandma Moses 'Poet to Notice', Empty Mirror, Midnight Lane Gallery, Bareback Lit and is a Contributing Poet over at the wonderful Mad Swirl.  If you like what you've read go send a friend request on facebook to bradfordmiddleton1.