Throw the dollars down on the bar
catch the drink come sliding by
feel the back of your throat go numb
and the warmth spreading from out your belly.

Stand alone, front and center
find the words that give the lump to your throat
and numb your soul to them just long enough to share

but what if they misunderstand
dislike you for what you share
what if it all comes out wrong?

well, how much better is the silence?
the air that dies because no message flows through it.
devoid of the scent of magnolias and burning flesh.

take another drink from the empty glass of poetry
let it warm your soul
and if hate is returned from a gift of love
then go ahead my child
and rant
and howl
and cry

it is so much better to feel out loud

than to die.