You could die of thirst
in the amount of time
it takes to get a drink
(Barman, please!
Barman!
Over here!)
But when that pint arrives
across the wooden bar and
pulls you from the brink ...
Raise your glasses....
Let’s drink to you,
and let’s drink to me
and drink to all,
for all they be
a toast to every silver maid
and to every fool
their thoughts un-played
Let’s drink to the future
Let’s drink to our history
and all of the wonders
of life in its mystery
And when finally done
and our glasses are gone
let’s raise a toast
to the staggering moon
Let’s drink to our families
Let drinking commence
Let’s raise up our glasses
as the recompense
For the lost and lonely
and the souls of the dead
for the millions of homeless
and for those without bread
Let’s drink for a lifetime
together in chains
to the liquor that binds us
and its happy disdain
Let’s drink to our country
and the drought of the Earth
to the damage we've done
and the trouble we're worth
Let’s drink to the average
to the one-out-of-five
to the kids with no water
and their fight to survive
Let’s raise up our glasses
so golden and full
Let’s drink till we’re stupid
and our thinking is dull
Let’s forget all their troubles
and just bury them all
under glasses of amber
so we don’t face the call
Let’s drown all their misery
in a lake of our choosing
at the end of a glass
you can win when you’re losing
(Barman, please!
Barman, over here!)
You could die of thirst
in the amount of time
it takes to get a drink...
Steve Wheeler © 1 July, 2021
