Nightly Toasts

This one's for the lion hearted lambs

who absorb the never ending cacophony of the outside world

and scream it back in their own

quietly inevitable way.

Here’s to the friends that I’ve buried

and the ones sitting next to me with

beer on their breath and

death in their eyes.

My fire is going dull and

he used the last of our gasoline to light

a fire of his own

even though it won’t be enough to keep him warm.

This one’s for you,

with your reckless tongue and

cautious mind.

Scream it back,

drink it down,

light the match.

This one is for you.

(a.w.)