"Toasts" [by Lee Upton]

Toasts

To the last credentials we have:
bottoms up.
Cheers to the skipper.

Be a sport.
During a nap
may you put in a brief appearance

in heaven and discover
they’re making a better heaven at last!
May this wine bless the sunlight

that kissed its life,
and for every toast you raise
may the one you love toast you twice

and not her husband.
And may the secrets
that chew like termites through every human heart

lose their appetites.
And may the long corridors of jokes
not even once silt up for you.

And when you are naked
may you excite speculation
rather than simple tolerance.

And may you never be ashamed
of your happiness.
And when nettles fly into your mouth

may they turn into wine,
and may you drink
until you’re conscious.

Lee Upton

--published in River Styx 76/77 (2008): 2-3

Comments

[Rocco]

"And when you are naked
May you excite speculation" --
And when you are clothed?

May you never be ashamed
Of the body that once was yours
Without breasts or hair.