She was crushed ice,
great for chewing,
bad for teeth.
She found me thirsty and pica,
down in the taps,
bounced and fanged.
And there she was, tall in the glass,
clear in her gaps but clouded
with lime in the hard stuff.
Yea, she yielded to my jaw,
ground her by the mouthful,
but my throat only dried,
dried that only a long pull
could quench it; dried such
that only a melting would do.
But when the water came down…
when the water came down,
she crumbled to a chunk.
And spinning in her way,
spinning in her way of refusing,
I set the glass down, parched.
But that’s the way with ice and water –
that’s the way,
somewhere north of thirty two,
but somehow south of liquors.
Sweet and Bitter Greens 