Whiskey princess
gypsy girl
sweet and vicious
his wild pearl

gypsy girl
delicately fierce
his wild pearl
both chills and sears

delicately fierce
this hushed siren
both chills and sears;
freezes and burns

this hushed siren
uptown gilt
freezes and burns
broken, yet built

uptown gilt
sweet and vicious
broken, yet built
whiskey princess .

Ground Zero

ground zero, (noun)
1: the point directly above, below, or at which a nuclear explosion occurs
2: the center or origin of rapid, intense, or violent activity or change; broadly : CENTER 2a
3: the very beginning : SQUARE ONE

a quick pour
of a spirit named after
the date when tequila
was first aged in
wood barrels: 1800

my salted neck
lime’s flesh
between my teeth
body shots
with a
superhero

his mouth
unplugged
my entire world
I was and am
the careless daughter
of a cautious man

drinking blue agave
with a beer back
way south
of my borders
hoarding electricity
while others searched for power

Girls Like Us

Brilliant. Bright,
tough and beautiful--
like walking, talking
diamonds.
Ready for both:
rough and smooth.

Red wine confessions
shots of honesty
TRUTH: fierce and delicate
shaken, not stirred
in a martini glass.
Growing younger with each
girlish giggle.

Kitten-heeled warriors
balance
coffee and curiosity.
Artful science
traipses toward tomorrow
with pretty pink toenails

Late Night Scribble

Inspired by Coppola Chardonnay

good wine in
a plastic bucket
soaking in
machine made ice
an obvious injustice

blackberry cravings
wireless memories
two ugly lamps shine on
princesses in a
cheap hotel room

Though the above poem was written while drinking Coppola Chardonnay (which I adore), I must tell you all that my new favorite is Ghost Pines Chardonnay (photo below). It's the perfect balance of fruit and oak. I highly recommend it.

Bogle Phantom

The name Bogle comes from the Scots word for phantom and this, their namesake wine, disappears like one too. A blend of 54% petite sirah, 43% zinfandel and 3% mourvédre, The Phantom is a haunting, fruit forward wine that begins with traces of blueberries, violets, chocolate-covered cherries and black pepper on the nose. Subtle notes of spice, clove and mocha complement the wine's fruit characteristics on the palate, finishing with toasting oak aromas from two years in a combination of one, two and three year old American oak. Enjoy now or let it rattle around in the cellar for a few years, but act fast, before the vintage vanishes.

Julie, Ann and I shared a bottle of this wonderful wine at Brix on Saturday night. Needless to say, my dreams were wild and in technicolor later that night.

Dilemma

I should resist
another glass of wine
cease and desist
though I feel so fine

One more glass
wouldn't be so terrible
this time would pass
and be more bearable

Why should I abstain
from this Chardonnay cocoon
wine entertains
even though it's only noon...

Lush Lust

Lush Lust

the lust of this lush
unparalleled
that first drink rush

to be held
with a drinkers grip
inhibitions expelled

cocktails give no lip
puppy love, a crush
eternal courtship

my wants make me blush
many faceted
the lust of this lush

Mischief--Inspired by Tequila

these moonbeams
make that vacant
swimming pool
look so inviting

my dress is so
e a s y
to take off and I am
so warm, really

a skinny little dip
would be so fat
and juicy

once in,
the water is my new dress
it fits so well

he swims toward me and
we giggle like
naughty
mischievous
children

my discarded
red dress
watches us rejected and
dry

3 Lanturnes

damn
I don't
have any
good chardonnay
left

all
that's left
is some old
wine I bought on
sale

cool
cheap and
last ditch but
it is all I
have

I've never heard of this poetic form before. It's called "lanturne" or "lantern" because it kind of looks like a Japanese lantern. It is a five line poem with a syllabic pattern of one, two, three, four, one. Has anyone else ever heard of a lanturne? I couldn't find anything about this particular form's origin.

Books, Poetry and Wine

A few days ago, my book club met to discuss Lush Life by Richard Price. I loved the book and we had a great discussion for about 20 minutes and then somehow we started drinking wine and, well, you know how those things go.


I demanded a retake, obviously. Doesn't Kevin know that I like to be front and center?


That's better, don't you think? Anyway, now for today's poem, "D:"

dissolved decorum
d e l i c i o u s
I daresay
a diminutive dab
will do you
dysfunction dwindles
with each drink
distress disappears
dull is dismissed
Darling, let's discover
this delightful
destination--
definite and distilled

Poem Scribbled on a Cocktail Napkin

after one too many
beefeater rocks
I can think only
of drunk skunks
on a Saturday night

while ordering Jack
with a beer back
I wonder how
a skunk
could be drunk

Right now, I'm
curious and I ask
myself if skunks
only drink
on the weekends

and what
exactly
does a skunk
drink on a
Saturday night?

these questions
melt into
nirvana
like ice
in my glass

Saadia Reads 'Shopping'

Basil Hayden Bourbon

bourbon undiluted
disorder recruited
gravity refuted
virtue polluted

tedium persecuted
ennui executed
necessity substituted
indulgence saluted

these times voluted
obligation muted
each drink computed
my essence diluted

*Darling Basilwire and Snz couldn't make it to my book event at The Book Cellar in Chicago, so they sent a bottle of Basil Hayden bourbon instead. Though I would have loved to have met them, the bourbon is almost too good to be true.

I've used sonic repetition in this poem. Sonic repetition is basically sounds repeated in a poem or another piece of writing. Many poets feel that sonic repetition is best left for performative poetry.

Johnnie Walker Blue Label

top shelf recall
mind opening
memories
a door left ajar
only to reveal
a collection
of curiosities

pouring
two fingers of
atonement
should be
as easy as
savoring the taste
of this brilliant whisky

Tequila!

After the shots, I wrote this poem:

Selfish

he offers

princess cut diamonds

with first class fixes

chinchilla guarantees

my weight in gold

protected in an offshore account

all for one real smile

and I still think

that he asks

too much

of me

Krug Observations

through
the drinking glass
tuxedoed men
look like a line
of dominoes
waiting for a push

old ladies
with little girl voices
cookie cutter princesses
well preserved
dressed for battle
armed with artifice

unstable
this boozy, blurry realm
where little
white lies
seem to be
the new black

Saadia Reads 'Jack Daniels'

Adrian

my private serenade:
weeknight wonderful
while playing hooky from
accountability. Drinking
in dreadlocked dulcets--
full bodied and fine

sweet like sugar, he
whisper sings to me
while I ask for more
Cabernet. Brilliant
temptation with just
six strings and
five fingers

Does anyone remember my previous post about Adrian Bartholomew? The boy is trouble, but Irresistible (with a capital 'I'). I ran into him a few nights ago when I was with my book club...

Lifestyles of the Bored and Jaded

hoping for matching socks
and meals that magically appear
an obvious paradox
both far and very near

mother's little helpers
play well with pinot grigio
one day whispers
yesterday is long ago

a sink full of dishes
hard to swallow screams
it's always Prozac wishes
and sweet Ambien dreams