Prior To Not Quitting Caffeine Poem by Marc Mannheimer

For years, I didn’t see the big deal,
downing
16 ounces,
sugar cream and caffeine bouncing
through my central nervous system
(already quite a bit nervous as it was)

I couldn’t quite conceive
of the ill effects,
the jarring to my CNS,
the subtle addictive cravings,
consuming continuous with mania blessed,
indulging four to five times a day
I didn’t see the big deal

Until I sat
still,
watching
a hill on the horizon,
vibrant with life,
grasses swaying in the warm, summer breeze,
horses braying,
lazily meandering
or playfully kicking about

My mind longed to flat-line,
tranquil, sublime,
But my heart pulsed with agitation

I wanted to find relief
in the vision of the butterflies
and of the miller’s daughter,
tending to her mare;
but I thought only of the next cup,
the next kick,
the next coffeehouse, junked-up hit

She ran her long, slender hand
down
the length of the horse’s nose;
sparrows perched on a flourishing oak

There are some things,
I thought,
more important than getting lit