no one knows what kind of behavior that alcohol will trigger
nobody pours the first drink
planning to smash a face
or throw a chair through a window
or say the one sentence
that burns down a marriage
they pour it because the day was heavy
because the mirror asked too many questions
because silence felt like a jail cell
alcohol isn’t courage
it’s a solvent
it loosens the screws
that kept the monster bolted to the floor
some men turn soft
crying over dogs they kicked years ago
some men turn poetic
talking about God and jazz and women who left
and some—
some discover there was a fist
waiting behind their ribs
all along
violence doesn’t arrive drunk
it was already renting a room
alcohol just hands it the key
the punch comes faster
than the thought
the apology comes later
if it comes at all
bars are full of mysteries
but this one’s simple:
booze doesn’t invent the devil
it just lets him talk louder
and when the lights come on
and the blood dries
everyone says the same thing—
“I didn’t know I was like that.”
yeah.
nobody ever does.
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