The following is a poem that I wrote in my Creative Writing: Poetry class after being told to pick up a random inanimate object out of the variety of items placed on a table for us and write an ode to it. We were told that we only had ten minutes to write about whatever we chose, so...I picked up a cork from a wine bottle, and this is what I came up with.
You are all that remains of a night
that I hardly remember.
Pulled from a bottle of Old Vine Zinfandel,
you were the only thing standing between me
and a plethora of decisions that I
never would have made had you
chosen to put up a fight.
Flashes of light
loud music blaring from the speakers
Shaking the floors and walls around us,
dancing silhouettes skin to skin
in a room filled far beyond
typical levels of comfort.
Sweat dripping from the pores
of a good looking man I barely know,
Passion rising in each movement
Getting lost in the bass of a song
that is overplayed on the radio
but tonight it speaks to us
and our bodies move together
with the uninhibited confidence that can only
be tapped into after the night has fallen
into a drunken haze.
He whispers in my ear
as alcohol whispers to my conscience,
"just do it. you only live once."
and hours later,
I'll do the walk of shame
with a smile on my face,
the sun peeking up behind the trees
feet getting wet from the cold morning dew
and I'll arrive home
get into my own bed just to wake up and
try to piece together
the previous evening's events
and thanking you,
dear cork,
for being the beginning
of an out of control
but amazing
night.
