Donna Farris
I Need a Beer Joint
I need a beer joint,
some place where no one gives a damn about Corona,
except the one served ice-cold with a wedge of lime.
Let me forget about face masks
and just get wasted with a friend,
as we spit in each other’s faces, talking bullshit.
I want to put some money in a jukebox
and dance so close our sweat mingles
as we twirl around on the wood floor.
It’s getting harder to watch the fear mongers
report the death toll while WFH in their underwear,
but we’re all in this together, right?
I love hearing about the deer,
antelope, mountain lions and coyotes
reclaiming their parks and jogging trails.
Who knew it would not be an act of Congress
but a microscopic germ to park our cars and trucks
giving Mother Earth a chance to breathe fresh air?
Shelter in place must be hard for the extrovert
even introverts, like me, are finding it very fucking suffocating.
that is why…I need a beer joint.
—Submitted on 05/20/2020
Donna Farris writes: I was having a particularly bad day at work—a library closed to the public. Stressed that I might be infecting my coworkers or them me. Feeling isolated, vulnerable and claustrophobic. My rebellious mind took over and I started writing this anthem. Farris lives and works in the Texas Panhandle.
SUBMIT to What Rough Beast via our SUBMITTABLE site.
If you enjoyed today’s poem and you value What Rough Beast, consider making a donation to Indolent Books, a nonprofit poetry press.