doug draime

At The Altar Of Death One Night In 1970

Dead drunk on the edge of a cliff
near Little Sur, California
contemplating my demise. The
magnificent Pacific a 100 feet
below me, black as that

stormy night. And I would have
most likely jumped if I hadn’t
run out of whiskey. Plus the
fact that I’d failed to bring along
a pen and piece of paper
to write my mournful farewell.

Of course, the words would have
just washed away in the pouring rain,
as if I had never existed at all.

Doug Draime's most recent book, More Than The Alley, is a full-length selected collection released in 2012 by Interior Interior Noise Press. A presence in the 'underground' literary movement since the late 1960's. Awarded PEN grants in 1987, 1991, and 1992. Nominated for several Pushcart Prizes in the last few years. He lives in Medford, Oregon.