Sipping

Sour grapes?

Bitter thoughts?

Regrets? Maybe.

Sipping coulda, shoulda, woulda thru a straw

because if I drank straight, I’d choke

Catching a lump of “I’m sorry” every suck or two

which is way harder to swallow,

but not as difficult

as chewing the chalky taste of bad choices

and the thick paste of “almost” still clogging the straw

while catching a huge chunk of self-pity

after carrying that party-favor for far too long

Sucking hard to squeeze up that last bit of …. whatever

only the gurgling noise in the bottom of life’s glass

can be heard

Thank goodness this once fragile glass

can be filled with better decisions and new flavors.

Karen Mariano Bryson lives in Virginia and is a published poet whose works have been featured in several volumes, most recently in Twilight Musings (2005 edition). She is the recipient of three “Outstanding Achievement In Poetry” silver bowls and is also featured on The Sound Of Poetry 3-CD compilation.