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Always Another

An Ekphrastic Sonnet

By D. J. ReddallPublished 5 months ago Updated 5 months ago 1 min read
Francis Bacon, "Man Drinking," 1955

Watching the glass drain you, cold and empty

Makes the impish paradox of whiskey

So clear, as thirst and wrinkles multiply

And you rinse the drain of your memory

You will tell the tired story again

I smell it frying behind your moist teeth

The drink hides repetition with its stain

From you, though I know what lingers beneath

You don’t know you are repeating yourself

You can’t remember all this forgetting

Once a library, you’re an empty shelf

Tangled up in your own mind’s wet netting

I remember seeing the drink take you

Nothing it taught you was fresh or true

Ekphrastic

About the Creator

D. J. Reddall

I write because my time is limited and my imagination is not.

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Comments (2)

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  • Sean A.5 months ago

    This is so well put together, from that very first line, and then how the drink hides the repetition. Great work!

  • Rachel Deeming5 months ago

    I love this line: I smell it frying behind your moist teeth. What a line that is! Deftly done, D.J.

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