Bar Napkin Sonnet #11

Things happen when you drink too much mescal.

One night, with not enough food in my belly,

he kept on buying. I’m a girl who’ll fall

damn near in love with gratitude and, well, he

was hot and generous and so the least

that I could do was let him kiss me, hard

and soft and any way you want it, beast

and beauty, lime and salt–sweet Bacchus’s pards–

and when his friend showed up I felt so warm

and generous I let him kiss me too.

His buddy asked me if it was the worm

inside that makes me do the things I do.

I wasn’t sure which worm he meant, the one

I ate? The one that eats at me alone?

Source: Bar Napkin Sonnets (The Ledge Press, 2005)