by Jordi Alonso
Rumi and Khayyam sang of god––or wine;
Fitzgerald and Millay both liked their gin
with or without a twist of Persian lime
Dorothy Parker played bridge to drink and win,
and Oscar Wilde was fond of chilled champagne.
Poor Dylan Thomas had a glass of rye
too many and though he did not complain,
he stopped his writing long enough to die.
While Hemingway had rum and Cuba Libres,
Neruda sampled his night-colored wine,
Arthur Rimbaud sailed on his bateau ivre,
and here I am just trying to lease mine.
With stars like these, no wonder people think
the only thing we poets do is drink.
Dr. Jordi Alonso holds an AB in English from Kenyon College, an MFA from Stony Brook University and a PhD in Victorian poetry from the University of Missouri. He is an MA student in Classical Studies at Columbia University studying nymphs and late antique epic poetry. His work has appeared in Kenyon Review Online, Colorado Review, The Southampton Review, Levure Littéraire, and other journals. Honeyvoiced, his first book, was published by XOXOX Press in 2014, and his chapbook, The Lovers’ Phrasebook, was published by Red Flag Poetry Press in 2017.