Dost thou think, because thou art virtuous, there shall be no more cakes and ale?

                                            Twelfth Night

 

“Right now I need a drink.”

 

“What do you mean by need?”

a concerned citizen asks.

 

“I mean

I need a drink

the way Yin needs Yang,

Apollo Daphne,

like polio-stricken FDR

after riding six hours

in an open car

through driving rain

needed a stiff bourbon

to buck him up.

 

“So that’s what I mean

when I say,

‘I need a drink.’

 

So, kind citizen,

I mean cakes and ale.

 

Or better yet

a scotch on the rocks.”