I’d like to share with you what I consider to be the best poem (actually a song) ever written about drinking.
Last Call
And so we’ve had another night
of poetry and poses
And each man knows he’ll be alone
when the sacred gin mill closes
And so we’ll drink the final glass
each to his joy or sorrow
And hope the numbing drunk will last
’til opening tomorrow
And when we stumble back again
like paralytic dancers
Each knows the questions he will ask
and each man knows the answers
And so we’ll drink the final drink
that cuts the brain in sections
Where answers never signify
and there aren’t any questions
I broke my heart the other day
it’ll mend again tomorrow
If I’d been drunk when I was born
I’d be ignorant of sorrow
And so we’ll drink the final toast
that never can be spoken
Here’s to the heart that is wise enough
to know when it’s better off broken
Dave Van Ronk
June 30 1936 – Feb 10 2002
