A quarter century
of sobriety
did not change
my belief
that dispensations
should be given
for sipping beer
on hot stoops,
the way we did
when cops were too busy
busting drug markets
to care much
about public drinking
Another two anniversaries
passed
I traded 27 years
for a shot of Jameson
By that time, the jungle
had changed into a zoo
Gates protected stoops,
festooned with warnings
against sitting or loitering
You couldn’t even smoke
a damn cigarette
without passersby
waving their arms
and coughing
My building
is a high rise
21 floors
We have no stoops
On summer evenings
the men play dominos
and the women
gossip on the benches
Sometimes there’s beer
Paper bags and straws
after sunset
The first time
I drank beer again
was not on a stoop
Not even Coney Island
or Yankee Stadium,
It was a winter morning
on the Lower East Side
He’d left half a can
of Budweiser’s
on the coffee table
Flat, warm beer
Gray skies
Yet still intoxicating
Tasting like memory
of all the sticky nights
that came before.
© 2019 Puma Perl
photo by Ellen Berman
Puma Perl is a writer and the author of four solo poetry collections; a
fifth will be published by Beyond Baroque Press, 2019. Since 2012,
she’s presented Puma Perl’s Pandemonium, which merges spoken word
with rock and roll, and she performs regularly her band. She’s received
three awards from the New York Press Association in recognition of
her journalism as well as the 2016 Acker Award in the category of
writing. She is a lifelong NYC resident.
fifth will be published by Beyond Baroque Press, 2019. Since 2012,
she’s presented Puma Perl’s Pandemonium, which merges spoken word
with rock and roll, and she performs regularly her band. She’s received
three awards from the New York Press Association in recognition of
her journalism as well as the 2016 Acker Award in the category of
writing. She is a lifelong NYC resident.
A comprehensive list of video links and updates on events can be
found on her blog, http://pumaperl.blogspot.com/
found on her blog, http://pumaperl.blogspot.com/
and previous works can also be purchased at erbacce press.
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