18 Wishes for a Maker's Mark

Didn't dawn on me that the bottle looks stained in blood
until the box was discarded on the counter
I put the glasses away (blood dipped too)
because they unhinged me

You can take those back whenever you want

I should lay claim to half though, considering what we went through to get the bottle

Too many arms have dropped me before in one form or another
(I have enough issues with men to float a psychologist's barge)

For whatever reason, I knew you wouldn't let me fall,
and in the liquor aisle, we managed to avoid acute financial disaster and judicial arraignment
when you lifted me by my hips to the top shelf

The victory was a bright corn maze in a whirlwind adulthood

Blood dipped for Halloween, I suppose
The one day a year I let myself feel how much death there's been

You pour out a libation for yet another fallen friend tonight
The care lines on your face stand out so much in the dark
(or perhaps now I know what to look for)

When you do open up like a twisting cap,
your burdens are amber whiskey bright-
fearing the terrible weight of a heavy soul

After all these years,
it's only over a bloodied bottle that we've truly begun to talk

Next time we're on an adventure
I promise to leave my pink ballet shoes at home


One thing I know for sure though,
I could never have made it across these rocks if you hadn't caught me

If I had 18 wishes on this Halloween,
I'd give one to you

May you never pour another libation for a lost soul again

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