since i stopped
i see not-shed tears
of unused blue
at the King Cole Bar i stole 2
bottles of champagne and laughed
when they caught me
they couldn’t hit me
martini-tough/i did pull-ups hungover
sometimes i called 1
when i was with another
sometimes i rubbed toothpaste
against my gums and left
before they woke
sometimes i fell
in a blizzard’s sideways snow
sometimes i spilled
on a white-clothed table
watched red spread urchin-shell pink
since i stopped (Cut!)
they’re not heat-shimmered jesters
or my background extras
***
Favorite Drink: Dirty-ish Martini: Three shots Beefeater gin + Quarter shot dry vermouth + 1 teaspoon leftover pickle juice = Shake like James Bond
***
Adam Berlin has written four novels, including Belmondo Style (St. Martin’s Press/ The Publishing Triangle’s Ferro-Grumley Award), and a short collection of boxing poems: The Standing Eight. He teaches writing at John Jay College in NYC and co-edits the litmag J Journal: New Writing on Justice.
***
image: Claire Cantrell Wood, dive bar aficionado.
Rejection Letters 