IT’S NOT SO SAD HERE by John Tustin
It’s not so sad here
But maybe it is.
Sometimes I drink
And I eat pistachios
And when I eat them
I put the shells in the
Empty beer bottle I
Keep next to me but
Sometimes, just once
In a great while, I end
Up dropping a shell
Into a bottle of beer
That I have not emptied.
It doesn’t happen often
But if has happened more
Than one time. It didn’t
Happen tonight but it
Almost did. A song by John
Prine was playing and it
Could be I was a little bit
Distracted or too drunk or
Some kind of combination.
My hands run through my
Hair and I take another swig
And I listen to Bob Dylan and
I think about how young you
Are in your heart when compared
To me and that we both like
Johnny Cash as I try to read
Charles Bukowski’s poetry,
Knowing I won’t piss my
Pants but I bet I might
Leak just a little.
John Tustin’s poetry has appeared in many disparate literary journals since 2009. fritzware.com/johntustinpoetry contains links to his published poetry online.