Sudden Victory

In the middle of our bruising break-up,
me all in a tumult of fear and grief,
in the midst of her small kitchen
in the Guatemalan cottage tucked
back in the jungle above the blue
vast beautiful lake,
I suddenly saw ‘VICTOR’ boldly
printed on the label of the brown
liter beer bottle.

I’d meant for the alcohol to anesthetize
our pain, but when my father’s name leapt
at me across the messy table in my sorrow
and confusion,
I knew in a flash of sobriety
we were through,
completely through,
stale beer in a broken vessel.