Cheers (2) Poem by Sheena Blackhall

Gesondheid!
Santé!
Prohst!
Sláinte!
Cin cin!
Salud!
Skål!

Actor & footballer, reality TV
Falling out of clubs and bars
At half past three

Fisticuffs& face-offs
Sexual harassment
Girls falling pregnant
When it wasn't their intent


Toddler in the buggy
Grizzling unheard
Parents sowsed with Buckfast
Haven't caught a word

Woman wears a black eye
Every second day
Too cowed to up and leave him
Is love brutality?

Child in the corner
Kicked around by dad
Any little something
Gets him riled and mad

Cheers! It's been raining
Any old excuse
To drink yourself insensible
Or stoned on monkey juice

Rum or gin or whiskey
Vodka doesn't smell
Cirrhosis, blackouts, memory loss
The merry road to hell