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"nobody told me being sober sucks" by Jack Moody



they didn’t

they lied


the sun would burn brighter

and mornings would sail along

like a great enveloping soul

they said that

nights would erupt with fire and

the moon would sing me to sleep

and my dreams would be delicacies to savor

forevermore


they said that

or something like it

they implied it

what they didn’t tell me

what they didn’t say


is that when you have a reason

not to be sober

that reason just sleeps

it sleeps for as long as you can take it

but then once you can’t

it wakes back up

and there you are

in a dark and quiet room

with a broken leg and no crutch

and god it’s menacing

teeth and

fangs and all

still there

waiting…


they never told me about that part

nobody told me that getting sober

is the easy part

when you had a pretty good fucking reason

to be

drunk.


it doesn’t get easier

they lied to me

but god

those mornings

that sail forever

and god

those nights

that erupt with fire

it sure sounds nice


so maybe

if I stare right back at my reason

and bare my teeth

fangs and all

maybe one day

that room won’t be so dark

and that reason won’t be so scary

anymore.


and I’ll look up to a ceiling

that’s no longer there

and the moon

will sing

for the both of us




Jack Moody is the author of six books including Crooked Smile and The Monotony of Everlasting. His newest books The Absence of Death, Children of Apothetae, and Miracle Boy are all slated for a 2024 release. He lives in Portland, Oregon.

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