The Familiar Drank the Strange By Tony Brewer

after Matt Hart

When I want to get sober I stop

embellishing reality 

its sharpness 

opposing the dull ache

It never ends 

even as I dissolve

into brick & rain

as sentient as swung elbows 

in a pit

primal

elemental 

Minor gods

overseeing humble hangovers

fever dreamed in Midwest 

shamanic escape from rest 

stop bathroom simulacrum

& trashcan calisthenics 

Nothing to do but count breaths 

left in a sinking party balloon

& when I want to get fucked up

I pull weaponry from the arsenal

of a universe rebuilt a million times

a day from upcycled memories

shaped like dreams sloshing

around in the soup within the bowl

my gray dumpling

floats warm & hand formed in

Unkempt & reserved for the sacred

rite of accidents

Leaving blazed trail away 

from groove of flat frequency

destined to bring back volume 

& loss of control

every atom wishes had a switch

SNAP – lights on awareness full

SNAP – I cannot find me here

I stumble into shadow

mistaken for stagger

my dance

around the fire of my humanity

burnt down to you my body

my lovely put-upon soul

now sponging up all poisons

& squeezing out precious drops

of something mercifully sweet

Tony Brewer is a poet and audio artist from Bloomington, Indiana. He co-produces the Writers Guild Spoken Word Series and the Urban Deer Performance Series. His books include Good Job, Lightning (Stubborn Mule Press) and Water Witch (Pure Sleeze Press). More at linktr.ee/TonyBrewer