Go take your cup and walk along the timber deck
Of our roaming ship; drain the hollow casks
Of all their red wine. How can we stay sober
on the watch when all the rest are drunk?

We fumed and screamed in our mountain nook, mad drunken Americans in the mighty land. We were on the roof of America and all we could do was yell, I guess — across the night...

in that drunken place
you would
like to hand your heart to her
and say
touch it
but then
give it back.

It is the hour to be drunken! To escape being the martyred slaves of time, be ceaselessly drunk. On wine, on poetry, or on virtue, as you wish.

"Be always drunken.
Nothing else matters:
that is the only question.
If you would not feel
the horrible burden of Time
weighing on your shoulders
and crushing you to the earth,
be drunken continually.

Drunken with what?
With wine, with poetry, or with virtue, as you will.
But be drunken.

And if sometimes,
on the stairs of a palace,
or on the green side of a ditch,
or in the dreary solitude of your own room,
you should awaken
and the drunkenness be half or wholly slipped away from you,
ask of the wind,
or of the wave,
or of the star,
or of the bird,
or of the clock,
of whatever flies,
or sighs,
or rocks,
or sings,
or speaks,
ask what hour it is;
and the wind,
wave,
star,
bird,
clock will answer you:
"It is the hour to be drunken!

In order not to feel time's horrid fardel bruise your shoulders, grinding you into the earth, get drunk and stay that way. On what? On wine, poetry, virtue, whatever. But get drunk!

I can’t listen to you. I can’t listen to your voice. It’s as though I’d drunk a bottle of anise and fallen asleep wrapped in a quilt of roses. It pulls me along – and I know I’m drowning – but I go on down.

My lips got lost on the way to the kiss -
that's how drunk I
was.

Wanting to be drunk, needing to stay sober.

You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.

When you get drunk you don't tear anything apart except yourself.

"Be Drunken, Always. That is the point; nothing else matters. If you would not feel the horrible burden of Time weigh you down and crush you to the earth, be drunken continually.

Drunken with what? With wine, with poetry or with virtue, as you please. But be drunken.

And if sometimes, on the steps of a palace, or on the green grass in a ditch, or in the dreary solitude of your own room, you should awaken and find the drunkenness half or entirely gone, ask of the wind, of the wave, of the star, of the bird, of the clock, of all that flies, of all that speaks, ask what hour it is; and wind, wave, star, bird, or clock will answer you: "It is the hour to be drunken! Be Drunken, if you would not be the martyred slaves of Time; be drunken continually! With wine, with poetry or with virtue, as you please.

DARE Rap When you SMOKE It’s no JOKE Smoking turns lungs BLACK And causes you to HACK If you go ahead and SMOKE You are going to CROAK If you smoke POT Your brain will ROT When you drink BEER You can’t think CLEAR When you drink BOOZE Your brain will SNOOZE If you take a DRUG You turn into a SLUG When you get HIGH You might try to FLY And you will DIE So if you go to a PARTY Be a SMARTY! Listen to my VOICE Make the right CHOICE If you never drink and DRIVE You have a good chance of staying ALIVE. Shelly Merkes, age 12

With wine, poetry, or virtue
as you choose.
But get drunk.