Can You Remember The Last Bottle Of Rum?

Can you remember
the last bottle of rum?
We were half sober when we bought it,
smelling of stale cigarettes
and cheap wine.

The clerk gave us a leary look;
"You boys be safe," she said
as we stumbled out to the car,
tripping on the sidewalk's edge,
the edge of the world.

Can you remember
the last bottle of rum?
A frenetic beat pummeled us forward.
Damn the troopers!
Damn the oil men!

We talked of pagan virgins
dancing in animal skins,
thrown out with the coffee grounds
after a single pot;
A smile, a laugh, a sadist's grin.

Can you remember
the last bottle of rum?
Nowhere to go,
running out of time,
mechanical veins split open, draining fast.

We are reckless, wild abandonment,
the incarnate Christ of the flesh,
Satanic mirth belching out of the murk
of the almost empty bottle;
An apocalyptic heaven of a hell.

Can you remember
the last bottle of rum?
I left you alone, lonely;
My thirst for sobriety
trumping my craving for debauchery.

You gave up that thirst long ago
for a malty-er one;
Its been years since we've spoken.
I know you're still alive,
I hope you're still living.