Barleycorn and She History
 
For decades I had an off-and-on affair
With  Mr. John.Barleycorn, Esquire.
Perhaps you are familiar with the heir
To a fortune made off  spirits for hire.
 
John and I met in public many times.
But what we liked best was a hideaway.
He sulked when I "just"saw Beer or Wine.
Only fooling yourself, he said snidely.
 
He was a good lover.  Even great at times,
But he turned into a real Jekyll-and-Hyde.
Made me so sick, I thought I'd die,
Yet I still loved him to distraction.  -Sigh-
 
Time after time, he put me on top of the world.
Dizzy felt great.  Well, most of the time.
How many lovers make your toes curl?
Send Trouble packing and raise you high?
 
Got under my skin, y'know?  Got hooked.
Wanted more, then more, then more.
Hobbies stopped.  Work slipped.  Friends forsook.
Everything  else became a chore.
 
I found myself in debt, then lost myself.
Lost track of things.  People I cared about.
Had to have that feeling,  that high self.
Too bad if it meant sneaking around.
 
Put the kibosh on the affair more than once.
Actually, again, again, and again.
See where it was going.  Not a dunce.
Pleasure, more and more, gave way to pain.
 
Not the sad ending it should have been.
True love -- real love -- makes you strong.
Finally, finally,   J. Barleycorn and kin
Faded into the background where they belong.
 
Say there are people who'll never fall prey.
Who see through that peculiar brand of charm.
Who were born and raised in such a way
They can sample without  harm.
 
Still, it is worrisome about all those kids.
All the  loved ones lost to DUI recidivists.
Violence when J.B. blows somebody's lid.
Solve:   X fingers x Y = 2 hitting fists. {??}
 

For Anonymous

(c)  Phyllis Jean Green,  2009