Jake Reynolds

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Drink the Drink

the danger of committing to drinking the drink was drinking the drink
then feeling but being unsure of how to transmit the wince of the drink
as it being drunk came to settle and segment in the hot belly of the role

walk to the side table drag your fingers over the thin coating of dust
if you are allergic to dust then grip the cut crystal glass even if your grip
is hindered by the dusty table if the glass falls then the shatter will be real

if you walk on one of the shards being barefoot the pain and blood will exist
and then the limp will be real for you and the role and the drinking of the drink
will still have to be done if there is only one crystal cut glass and it has fallen

you will drink from the posh thing your role would know its real name
the translucent stopper like a marble cool in your palm the hot spice drink
unravelling inside but you must accept the pain you are here to drink the drink

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JAKE REYNOLDS is a poet and upcoming PhD student at the University of East Anglia. His poetry has been published by The White Review, HVTN, Seam Editions, and others.