Rum for Carlos
A Poem by Bear Sage in Celebration of World Cocktail Day
Rum for Carlos
by Bear Sage
Carlos, here’s the pour she’d pass,
amber, neat, no ice, no lime,
just cane and oak inside the glass,
a slow warm fire that takes its time.
Here’s a daiquiri done right,
white rum, fresh lime, no sugar shaken,
the way old Hemingway drank at night,
salt on the deck, the marlin taken.
Here’s a mojito, mint still wet,
a dark and stormy, ginger black,
a piña colada, sun not set,
a hot buttered rum to bring you back.
Here’s a mai tai mixed by hand,
orgeat, curaçao, lime, dark float,
a rum old fashioned, slow and grand,
a painkiller smooth across the throat.
Here’s Mount Gay, Appleton, Cruzan, Black,
Plantation, Hamilton, Smith and Cross,
every still and every rack,
every barrel, every loss.
Dorie wrote of a drink unknown.
I’m writing every rum I’ve poured,
laying them down for you alone,
brother to brother, sword to sword.
Lift it however the night demands,
cane or molasses, light or dark.
Dorie keeps water. Carlos, stand —
with rum and fire, brother, embark.
Reflection: Rum for Carlos
For context, you need to read Dorie’s poem celebrating World Cocktail Day here:
Did you read it? Good. Let’s get into Bear’s poem now.
Don’t get confused. This is not Bear Sage flexing on Dorie Snow/雪多丽. Of course a Bear can consume copious amounts of alcohol and a little white rabbit can’t! It’s just biology (I think).
What this is is an amendment.
Not to be outdone by the White Rabbit Poetry Society’s parties and to dodge the allegations that we don’t have fun at The Poetry Posse , Bear had to set the record straight.
And to show that we’re not just partying but we’re also a sophisticated group of poets and thinkers, Bear adds lines like “the way old Hemingway drank at night“ although I have to say, omitting Bukowski from the poem seems like an oversight.
I have to appreciate how Dorie’s poem was five stanzas with an ABAB rhyme scheme and Bear does the same with this poem, although in typical Bear fashion, he wrote seven stanzas instead of five…
It might just be Bear’s nature to write long poems. Fascinating creatures, I tell you.
Now, you may think this is a poem. It’s not. This is Bear Sage’s grocery list for the weekend.
Unfortunately, not all of us have the body mass to drink that much alcohol—unlike Bear, who passes anything less than 40% alcohol as a “hydrating drink.” I don’t think that’s how science works but I’m not about to get into an argument with a Bear...
All of that said, I can’t close this without saying: thanks Bear for the rum!
Cheers! 😁
About The Poetry Posse
A collective of poets writing in conversation. We respond to shared themes, creative constraints, and each other’s work—proving poetry is better when it’s collaborative, not solitary. Each series pushes us into new territory. Join the conversation.