Don’t Cry, You’ve Had Too Much To Drink

after Carlos Drummond de Andrade

 

Andrew don’t cry     You’ve had too much to drink     So what

You’ve outlived the family in the portrait     Except one brother one sister

Why does it matter     Birds of prey still go on the hunt

You are their launch tree     You are the rock in the middle of the street

You are what the picture left behind     Andrew a time comes

When the margin is called     When the coyote won’t back down

From the car as it eats its roadkill     When saying a prayer

Rings in your ears     And the thumping in your chest

Says stay calm it’s useless to resist     Andrew you have no more tricks

To stop spring from blooming animals     To stop the flowers

From being an afterthought     To stop talking to yourself

Remember the footsteps you hear are yours     Remember Andrew

The seven sides of love you made took you to the river     Remember

This baptism is not what the church had in mind     Andrew remember


Also by Andrew Cox

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