POETIC WORDS OF WINE

Angels, Thieves and Winemakers written by Joseph Mills, has come to my attention. Mills is a literary critic who has written a book of poetry about wine. A few poems for your enjoyment...

Wine's Beautiful Illusions

Opening a bottle of wine is an act
of optimism. We're confident it will
improve the moment, the conversation,
the relationships. Each time we pull a cork,
it's as if we're saying, Here, I think this
will help make things a little better.

Some Hypotheses on Why a Second Glass May Taste Better:

Perhaps the eyes see the refill
and signal to the body
At ease:
you're here for a while so
you might as well
loosen the tie
and settle in,
or perhaps the wine itself relaxes
slips out of its cork corset,
begins to breathe
and make itself more sociable,
but it's probably because
you are wiser
than a glass ago.
There is no mystery now
about what the bottle holds.
You no longer have
expectations
or illusions
but you still have
desire.

Twenty Years Later I Make a Realization About Her Shampoo:

What do you smell,
the winemaker asks,
and I hesitate to answer
because it's an old girlfriend
and weekends in her studio apartment,
milk carton bookshelves
and cracked walls and ceilings
whose stains we pretended formed maps
of countries like Mythica and Fornucopia.
He waits politely
but you can't say
you smell a lover,
broken plaster,
old jokes,
a life you used to have.

Finally, he suggests,
Grapefruit?
and I realize, yes,
that's it,
the nape of her neck,
her ears, her hair.
Grapefruit.