Getting Drunk at the Last Supper

Imagine, we are time travelers

Sent to the upper room where the last supper is held

Invisible to everyone but the son of God

But he’s not really paying attention to us

Because he’s holding Judas’s hand tightly under the table

Trying to reassure him of what he will have to do

“I’m gonna buy you fuckers one last round

And then shit’s going to get real around here” he says

Of course they didn’t get it

He gave thanks

And passed out the wine and bread

Muttering some shit about

My body… my blood…

So does this make us all vampires?

We laugh

He doesn’t

We get drunk

He doesn’t

Like a general about to head alone into one last charge

He doesn’t want them to know where he’s headed

And they don’t want to know either

He tells them anyway

And they still don’t believe him

Judas leaves

We head out into the garden for some fresh air

Everyone falls asleep

And I wander forward in my drunken stupor

As the hands of those from every time

Try to stop me from saying something stupid

Too late

“Tell me one thing Rabbi,” I say

Surprised that I’m able to speak in full sentences at this moment

“You knew that this was it, that this was the end

You knew that everything from this moment forward was going to be hell

But you didn’t let them know

You didn’t make it clear

You let them drink, you let them eat

You said what would happen

But none of them believed you

And you knew it too

So, why did you let them all get drunk?”

“I couldn’t deny them a last hurrah,” he said.

“I couldn’t let them walk into this

Without one last moment

One last inch of happiness to hang onto

So I got them drunk

And I told them what would happen

But they’re too happy to believe it right now

It’s for the best.”

“Don’t you think you’re cheating them?

They don’t know what’s to come.”

He looks at me with the eyes

That drove the money changers out of the temple with a bull whip

It’s at that moment that I remember

When saying, what would Jesus do?

Always remember that flipping tables and losing your shit

Is a viable option

“Tell me about the last time you were with those friends you drank with

The ones who made you into the adult that you are now

Remember how you didn’t tell them why you were leaving?

And tell me you don’t think of that night when you feel the worst

Then tell me I’m cheating them

By letting them have one last night

When I know that this will keep them warm on cold nights

That this night will live on in their minds if nothing else will

It’s a life line

A moment in time to hold onto

Even for him.”

He nods over my shoulder

I don’t have to look to know that Judas is standing there

I walk past him onto wood boards

Towards a copper bar

I take a drink from my favorite bartender

The one with the red hair and devastating blue eyes

“Last call for sin and debauchery,” he says

“Last call before all the world falls down around us

“Last call for your lost twenties.

“Last call, for alcohol, so what you need?”

“Just this,” I reply, turning back to face the room

And I raise my glass to them

To the soldiers grinning through blood and grime

To the intellectuals and their late night debates

To the in betweens, never to be defined

To the women with the keys to the store houses

To the bad ass bitches that brought men to their knees

To the children we were

To the men and women we are

I salute them all as they raise their glasses, tap the bar, and take the drink down

This night has to last me

I walk to the door, trading hugs and kisses

Tug the beard on a laughing warrior

Kiss the breath out of a goddess

And kneel at the feet of the old saints

This is my last call

One last time

Drink your drink

Sing your song

Hold this night close to your heart

For times it gets cold and dark

Even the apostles got a last call

And this one was mine