Stretching My Mouth by Clem Flowers
You traded in
Factory callouses
For the blooms
Of a guitar
You lined with
Frozen peony petals
Strapped to you
With hand me down
Bible belts
But
You couldn't juke
The self medication
That's dogged your line
For ages
The bottle swallowed you up
Like LT on Theisman-
Gristle
Still hangs on the bone
& now you have
A standing invitation
To return to your newest digs
At the Greyhound station
But you've got
Too much pride
Too much fear
To call home
Cuz you hear
Your failure
On the radio
Of every passing car
Not playing you
At least,
Until you busk enough
For another bottle
Of New Amsterdam
Clem Flowers (They/ Them) is a soft spoken southern transplant living in the colossal shadow of a mountain range in Utah. Nonbinary & bisexual, they enjoy cooking, watching old films, and making many trips to a local bird sanctuary. They live in a cozy apartment with their wonderful wife & sweet calico kitty Luna. George Romero once complemented their Ramones shirt & that was pretty sweet. Twitter: @hand_springs777