Gin and Tonics By Holly Payne-Strange

 

There’s something special 

About a good gin and tonic. 

Smooth as date ready legs,

And a bite

Like a joke that lands too close to home. 

A little bitter sometimes, 

An acquired taste. 

I like it like that. 

I like the weird, the strange, the 

If-you-didn't-know-any-better-you’d-say-‘oh-my-god-what???’

And when you take it like a shot 

(Bad idea. But it’s how I met my wife)

It has one hell of a burn.

I like that too. 

I like it when it takes 

More than it gives. 

And when there’s nothing left, 

Nothing but a whisper at the back of your throat,

The memory of good times and how great it made you feel…

Hell yeah I want another one.  

If I didn’t 

I’d drink 

Carrot juice. 

PS: This poem is about 

You. 

Holly Payne-Strange (she/her) is a novelist, poet and podcast creator. Her writing has been lauded by USA Today, LA weekly and The New York Times. Her  next novel, All Of Us Alone, will be a recommended read for Women Writers, Women’s Books in December 2023.  She’s had her poetry published by various groups  including  Door Is A Jar magazine, In Parenthesis, Dipity Lit Magazine, and will soon be featured in Academy Heart, among others.