It is 5 o'clock somewhere
but the hangover
is somewhere too
and there are places
where the bad news
has been learned from already
so the people
from the recent past
can wise up
learn from the headache
and not make
the same mistake
of underestimating
their bad reaction
and having to clean up
way more puke
than they expected
once they and their bar buddies
have parted ways
and find themselves
too alone again
and this is all in fact true
not one of those
wild ideas
a couched-in-humor
serious idea
that seems only to come up
when 5 o'clock rolls around
in our time zone
when you're channeling Shel Silverstein
and catching a glimpse
of that adult world
in some far-off land
which is a healthy mix
of logic and compassion
and is in fact
still happy to break your fall
when the sidewalk ends.
This poem © 2014 Emily Cooper.
