Bloody Mary Morning Poem by Thomas Case

It was a
bloody mary morning,
with a Van Gogh sky.
I woke up early, and
found a bar that did the
same.
My kind of place
dark
and empty.
I began ordering bloody marys,
one after another.

At noon I paid
my bill and
caught the bus downtown.
I had to be at the
courthouse at one for a
probation violation hearing.
I met my lawyer in the
hall.
He said,
"What the hell are you doing? "
"What are you talking about? " I asked.
"You're drunk, " he shouted.
"I'm fine, " I said.
I followed him into the
courtroom.
We sat down across the
table from the
prosecutor.
As soon as we sat
down,
he said,
"Come with me."
I got up and followed
him into the
judges chambers.
He handed me a small
machine with a
tube attached,
and said,
"Blow in this."
I did.

He said, 'This must be your
lucky day.
It's broken.
Do you want a
week in jail or
a month more
probation? "

I'll take the longer
probation, I said
I had nothing but
time, and a small
amount of cash.
I walked out of
the court house.
Everything
looked bloody.