I MAY NEVER BE STRAIGHT EDGE BUT IT IS PUNK ROCK TO QUIT DRINKING

in the NOFX song Bob spends 15 years gettin loaded until his liver exploded
saying he wanted to think about nothing

am I made of the same weakness
afraid of checking my mail? 	

cockroaches & bedbugs my first apartment like Charybdis’ maw of misery
molded paperbacks thanks to a busted ceiling pipe like
cosmic justice for my settler ass like all streams flow 
into the sea & yet the sea is never full homie

all becomes dust	
it is not a sin to recycle a book

the best conversations happen in a tavern but
the revolution doesn’t happen because you got drunk

the revolution is clear-eyed & callous-handed & joyous in struggle 
the revolution is constant as a river & leaves you sore but naturally high
the revolution is dancing with everyone on the floor

in community garden mornings
in the drag punk band hollerin on the street festival north stage
in the public school fundraiser night

it is song you started but only the rest of the band could finish
it is a reliable bus route
it is a shared box of blueberries 

WHITE PARENTS OF BIRACIAL CHILDREN

do people ignore you
at the airport 
if you’re the parent not holding the kid’s hand?

our kid’s pre-k3 teacher called him a ‘bright light’
which was as adorable as hummingbirds
of course that’s exactly what you are yes it is you are bright light

cut to a couple years later 
talking about being half-Black half-white 
he asks how much of him is bright light

every part of you is bright light I tell him
but that’s not the point 	it’s Black History Month
& sun is shining at the park
& my wife teases me 		he still needs sunscreen you know

one day my son will grow up
& be another Black man
I can screw up a handshake with

---

Chris Corlew is a writer and musician living in Chicago. His work has appeared in Cotton Xenomorph, Whisk(e)y Tit, PassionFruit Review, Cracked.com, and elsewhere. He can be found at lazyandentitled.org or on Bluesky @thecorlew.