Sonnet Poem by Neil Crawford

Shall I compare thee to a brewer's dray?
for thou art shaky and intemperate,
rough wind doth churn the consumed hops all day
as last night's drink you regurgitate.

Sometime bloodshot the eye of drunkard shines
and often are his several senses dimmed,
with every heave you hear him whine
by chance and nature, fully skinned.

But thy eternal stomach shall not fade
'cept in the depression of the bulge it showest,
nor shall abstinence brag thou wanderest in her shade
when to the eternal opening time thou goest.

So long as men can drink
and eyes can't see,
so long live booze
and give new 'life' to thee.



(With copious apologies to Bill Shakespeare and my younger self) .