It didn't matter if it was
August, and the air felt like an
oven on broil, or if it was
February, and the dumpsters
were icecicles to the soul.
We needed booze, and since we
didn't have jobs, the cans, at
5 cents a piece were our
aluminum tickets to sweet relief.
The magic click.
Enough cans meant a bottle of
whiskey
vodka
gin,
anything to dull the
sharp, vivid pain of life.
We sifted through
cat shit
catsup
dirty diapers
discarded porno mags,
and all the other
garbage from the
rich and the poor.
One winter morning,
I threw back a heavy metal lid,
and there was a fat
raccoon looking up at me.
If Bacchus or Dionysus were
smiling, we found a
full bottle.
It happened once in
a while during summer when
the college kids headed home.
Miles of walking,
freezing or burning up,
We were the aluminum
cowboys.
-
Author:
Thomas W Case (Pseudonym) (
Offline) - Published: July 2nd, 2025 11:46
- Comment from author about the poem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cz70MOS_JX8 Here is a link to my you tube channel where I read my poetry from my books, the latest being Sleep Always Calls, they are available on Amazon. I have a website...link below #www.thomaswcase.com
- Category: Unclassified
- Views: 33
- Users favorite of this poem: Teddy.15, Tristan Robert Lange
Offline)
Comments7
lol I love that raccoon 🦝 🌹
lol. Thank you.
Excited for your tour, Thomas! Best of luck on it. And what a excellent poem, my friend! 🌹👏
Congratulations Thomas on the book signing. As for the poem it took me back when I saved cans for a friend. A gritty write of nostalgia.
Thank you.
Firstly congratulations on the book signing, secondly loved the read, when I was a kid we collected bottles as they had a desposit on them, real life write from the street, nicely done
Thank you.
You are very welcome
Pleas send airfare Sydney to Iowa and return. I prefer Singapore airlines.
Many thanks.
lol. Thanks, Dave. Why not Qantus?
That would need six or more full MPS pages pushing the plethora of poets here to one side in order to answer fully. Sometimes referred to as our national carrier, Qantas is nothing now but a private profit making carrier with a past record on service delivery and treatment of workers which stinks.
those were the days for sure - it happened then, and now too, it does..
Thanks
you are most welcome
Sounds Tough. Over here we used to take empty Bottles back to the 'Pub' and receive money off the Barman.
Nice One again.
yes, thanks for reading.
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