“Always do sober what you said you’d do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut.” Hemingway.

 

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Luncheon of the Boating Party (1880–1881). Courtesy of the Phillips Collection, DC.

When I look into the mirror
I do not see my face
I see those ghosts behind me,
Trailing blood and lace.

Please excuse my misapprehension,
I do apologise for my fault,
It is not my intention to diminish comprehension:
Of my actions, my persona, my whole gestalt.

But I am not a good prose writer,
For I sympathise with the autistic blighter
Who can always hear the thunder,
Echo deep within his heart,
It’s louder every day, and it’s tearing me apart.