Heaving in Heaven. By Gwil James Thomas

Oftentimes as juveniles 

the Patel brothers and I would be 

riding our bikes around 

the neighbourhood and we’d spot 

Duncan, or Drunk Dunc’

as he was colloquially known - 

slouched on a bench, wall, 

or passed out in the park grass.

For a while he was in cahoots 

with Cider Head Sue, 

then one day she’d disappeared 

and people said that Drunk Dunc’

had killed her with a chainsaw 

before selling her flesh

to the local kebab house for wine - 

which of course was utter bollocks. 

Our parents warned us to 

stay away from him and that,

that was what happened to 

a man without a job - 

but at the same time Drunk Dunc’ 

always seemed happier than them,

as he swigged away 

and enthusiastically sang songs 

from bygone years - 

to the point that sometimes 

it was as if Drunk Dunc’ 

was about to heave in heaven - 

but what I didn’t know then 

was that drinking like that rarely came 

without having at least once 

taken a detour through hell.  

Gwil James Thomas is a novelist, poet and inept musician originally from Bristol, England. He is a Best of The Net and Pushcart nominee whose work has appeared in publications such as 3 Poets, 3AM, Mythos Zine, Paper & Ink, Low Light Magazine, Cephalo Press and also here. His two most recent poetry chapbooks are In The Barrel of a Beautiful Wave (Holy & Intoxicated Publications) and Writing Beer, Drinking Poetry (Concrete Meat Press). He is currently laying low somewhere in Northern Spain.