Judge Erstwhistle and me…..
The Sunday Whirl blog invites writers to write a poem or short prose using some or all of the “wordle’s” 12 word.
This week’s words are:
12 words – 12 steps
It started with me
In the ditch
By Jackson Bends
After I left my favorite watering hole,
The Palace,
Driving home
Drunk
As usual.
The law of diminishing returns.
This time Judge Erstwhistle was
Driving by and saw the whole thing
This time, he said, there
Will be no more breaks.
You are a burden on all of us.
A menace to the community.
The same words he said before
And would say in court again in
Two short weeks
Except the smell of bourbon from my rotting breath
And the clots of blood stuck like
Dark maroon spiders to my face
Would not be there,
And I would not be slurring my speech,
Or apologizing profusely,
Crying, babbling, like
The baby that I am,
Not being able to control my liquor.
There is no virtue in drinking.
In court, sober,
My lawyer by my side,
I said to the Judge:
I am ready to face whatever it is you are going to do.
I want to stop,
I wish I could have stopped before it came to this.
Judge Erstwhistle didn’t exactly use these words, but
What I sort of heard him say was that my words
Were like poetry to his ears.
And he remanded me to one full year of
Alcoholics Anonymous, seven days a week,
And to have someone sign a form that he would give me
To turn it into my probation officer every Friday.
And I said, No problem. I can do that.
To attend weekly counseling sessions.
And I said, No problem, I will do that.
If you’re found in the Palace,
Or any bar, or found drinking at any time,
I will send you away for 5 long years the next time.
Judge Erstwhistle, you will not find me drunk again.
If I have to live in an AA room to remain sober I will do that.
I will go to any lengths.
Judge Erstwhistle winked at me, smiled kindly, and said,
We shall see. We shall see.
Randy Mazie
The Writer's Village 
Beautiful. Now I understand, See you at the next meeting. I’m up to step 10!
Good for you!!!!!! One day at a time, Paul. One minute at a time, sometimes.
Yeah, it was a difficult couple of days and I never said how much I appreciated your call. Thanks, Bro!
You’re welcome. Anytime you’d like to talk or write – you have my number and email address – feel free.
Highly engaging read! I enjoyed it from beginning to end, can feel the remorse, but I also understand the judge’s “we will see….”
Thanks. I had hoped that it would be engaging.
I wrestled with several endings. One being the judge saying that “We will see you at the meeting” implying that he was a member of AA.
But I felt that most times, judges, loved ones, family members, employers, friends, all hold their breaths as to whether this is really going to be the time that the “cure” will stick – and so the “we shall see…”
Thanks for commenting,
Randy