Cerveza Taurino Poem by Alexandre Nodopaka

I nearly panicked when the bottom shelf
Of the refrigerator was empty of beer
Except for one can.

Sharing the problem with my mate
She said I ought to stop drinking so much
As it caused me to have a beer-belly.

Guzzling the last swig I replied,
Think of me as a south of-the-border
Moctezuma Buddha.

And like a toreador lunging his sword
In a single swoop in the heart of a bull
Underscoring my machismo

I crumple the can
In a single gorilla squeeze of my hand.
As it starts bleeding

I envision myself a Hemingway hero
Gored by a bull in bloodied Corrida sand
Or towed out in the vast ocean

The way of the Old Man and the Sea
All rolled in one and when I hear the toll
Of a distant bell I wake startled.

Thinking it's for me but it's a bloody
Fricken Sunday and there's no beer
Or Ingrid Bergman or Ava Gardner.

I slide the muzzle of the revolver
In my mouth and for a split second think,
Hey man! Let me first have some hops.