Three Drunks, poetry by Martha Annice Jackson at Spillwords.com

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Three Drunks

Martha Annice·October 5, 2020

English Poetry

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Three Drunks

written by: Martha Annice Jackson

But I got the wisdom of 3 drunks running around in my head
Look at this smile
They gave it to me
Taught me to skip over hell and live life on a cloud
Focus baby, look straight ahead
Life ain’t over and you ain’t dead
Don’t forget to guard your heart – use your mind
I thank God for 3 drunks running around in my head

I see them now slobbering and shaking their heads before that drunk coma
Holding up one finger and whispered little girl don’t be like me
Pst! Keep your head up
Pst! And your dress down
Pst! When you leave home keep your mouth shut
Pst! Don be a clown
Pst! Ain’t never had no real fun in laying down around town
I got the wisdom of 3 staggering philosophers swooshing and bumping around in my head
Those words plastered to my breast to secure my soul
Pst! Don’t need a man always in your bed
Child don’t be like me-stumbling around in the dark because I am afraid to be free
Afraid of me
Afraid of tomorrow
Crying about yesterday and
Numbing myself to live each day

But I got the wisdom of 3 drunks always shouting at me
Hey! Went to school-see I know you’d finish too
Hey! Getcha a good job
Pst! Make a good life
Getcha something better than whiskey and a man late at night
But Child-you do sometimes have to let go and celebrate

But I got the wisdom of 3 drunks dancing in my head
Honey! Balance yo life with goodness-Don’t be ready to fight
And go for bad
Keep your steps steady;
never let your feet slip on the porch and burst your head
then you might wound up in some stranger’s bed

I love those 3 drunks in my head and
Miss their faces and the touch of their hands
Miss them whispers, shouting, and pushing me ahead
They never wanted my life to be bad
Thank you, 3 drunks, I kept my head up, my dress down and got an education and a good life. But I really, really miss you.

About
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Martha Annice

I write stories based on my childhood in Lebanon, Tennessee where I grew up in the African American community as the daughter of the town bootlegger. Growing up in a small southern town was not always easy, but growing up as the child of the bootlegger was even more difficult—and always interesting. What I hope to accomplish in my writing is to preserve this life in small-town Tennessee after the Second World War, especially the lives of the people that I loved in these small towns. This life and these people will be lost if not preserved in stories. I hope to preserve characters, their situations, and their voices in my stories because I do not want them to be lost. I am fairly new to the area of creative writing, but I have studied writing and worked with a mentor at Middle Tennessee State University in the MTSU WRITE program.

Lou Storey

A textbook example of nominative determinism, Lou Storey has always been a storyteller, a fact well illustrated in his art and in his writing. His careers have reflected that as well, first as a creator of idea-based exhibitions for museums, and later as a psychotherapist employing narrative therapies. His art and his writing share qualities of rich texture and detail, examining our capacity to be absurd while allowing a measure of forgiveness for our foibles. Storey and his husband Steve retired in 2021 and moved from New Jersey to Savannah Georgia. “We love everything about Savannah, it is like a city that looks like a park and thinks it’s a small town. Best of all, we can grow bananas in the backyard!”

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