Old Tom's DTs

Old Tom crawled out of his home hole
Beneath the tavern on the square,
When I was only ten years old
And dared not see what wasn’t there.

He told me Main Street had a snake
And raved about its coiling size.
I watched him tremble, piss and shake
At hissing deep behind his eyes.

Bur I was ten, too young to see
That even caring has a cost.
His serpent was not real to me;
It had been bred from what Tom lost.

Nostalgic! Anyone with a drinking problem, who has progressed to the point of DT’s can surely relate to Your well crafted piece.

Thanks, Orbie. Old Tom died among the kegs in the basement of the tavern where he slept. At ten, I could not know what hard life had driven him to drink to the point of seeing snakes. I knew only that they were not there on Main Street. They were in his head.