Weekly Sip: Marlboro Red & A Suicide

Sometimes the rain reminds you.

Welcome to The Oasis, a collection of poetry tied to a dubious little dive bar in the midwest. Enjoy song recommendations, drink recipes, and poems - all pairing together less like a fine wine with Brie and more like a cheap shot of bourbon with stale peanuts. Cheers!

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Photo by Alex Dukhanov on Unsplash

Song recommendation: “Bullet Proof… I Wish I Was” - Radiohead

Youth is wasted on the young, or so the saying goes. I’d like to think that the courage (or misplaced confidence) of youth leads to sparks of magnificence. For some, the spark burns too bright or stretches too close to the sun. As mentioned in my last post announcing the return of a Beauty Queen, the characters and themes in my poetry collection align with a fiction novel I’m writing. However, there are traces of truth in this week’s sip. Written in free verse akin to the format used in The Wait, “Red” is loosely based on someone I lost many years ago.

Drink recommendation: Purple Passion with a Marlboro Red

Coming of age in a small town in the midwest, few things were as celebrated as Purple Passion (also known as the toast of teenage angst). While the quick version consists of grape Kool-aid and vodka, the adult version below touts a bit more nuance and flavor. Both cocktails are best enjoyed outdoors and pair surprisingly well with a Marlboro Red.

Purple Passion:

• 1.5 oz vodka

• 1/2 oz orange liqueur

• 2 oz grape juice

• 1 oz grapefruit juice

• Pour over ice, stir, garnish with orange wheel & enjoy

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Red

I.
Pea soup skies pour over brittle plains. 
The gray beards and worn overalls in town
anticipated from the smell; cut grass
mixed with humid breeze. The scent  
soothes me, makes me think of you.

II. 
Just like clockwork the creek 
begins to flood. Moonlight Road 
closes. The same beards and overalls 
curse the impending detour. Remember
when we ditched fifth period and
smoked cigarettes on the bridge?

III. 
Still raining. Winds picked up again. 
Branches and scattered trash 
parade in the rising creek.
A soggy Micky Mouse waves to me
from the water. People must think I’m crazy, 
standing out here in the rain. 

IV. 
Stopped by The Oasis today. 
Ordered your favorite drink and
listened to the thunder exert its
authority. I could almost see your face, 
your long hair, green eyes across from me.

V. 
Folks talk loudly of the ‘93 flood,
how, “This storm ain’t nuthin.”
Funny how they get, so fired up.
Don’t worry, everything’s too waterlogged
to catch a spark.  

VI. 
The sun whispered secrets
over the county this morning.
The warm winds and clear skies
were welcome. From time to time, 
I still miss you. 

*In memory of Jared Juarez*

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