Overwhelm

There was a door between the men arguing and me
In the small-town hotel when I returned late to my room.
Then they went quiet, which can be more dangerous.
I became stealthy in my mind.
Bad spirits find doorways in stupor.
I used to seek lift from the overwhelm
In drink.
I’d ride over the meadow of doubt flowers
To the field of miracles where anything was possible
In the blur.
I never drank alone. It was the circle that drew me
From the haunting to the waters.
We remembered songs that we thought we had forgotten
And we were beautiful beyond belief.
The profane danced wildly with the sublime.
How ridiculous now to think we were happy in the quick shelter
We sought from truth.
I now understand how a whole country can drink
From the waters of illusion and go down.
And how easy fury can turn to gunshots
Then give way to torpor.
I needed a respite from the story, then as now.
I counted the steps from midnight to home, to your arms.
The dark skies of eternity were lit with small fires.
They showed me the way.