7 ½

By
the time
I
was 7 ½
it
was clear
to
me
my
mother
was
an
alcoholic

She
would
last
another 7 ½
years
and die
when
I
was 15

7 ½
years
later
I
woke up
on
the floor
and
couldn’t
remember
what
I
had done
the
night before

but
I
could
never
forget
those
first
7 ½ years

the
TV shows
and
the toys
the
laughter
and
the
noise

birthday
candles
burning
and
blowing out.

Bradley Mason Hamlin is an American writer, veteran of the United States Navy, and alumni of the University of California, where poet Gary Snyder dubbed Hamlin “The Road Warrior of Poetry!” Hamlin was born in Los Angeles and currently lives in Sacramento, California with his wife, kids, and wild cats. He is the creator of Secret Society Comics and publisher at Mystery Island Publications. His latest book of poems, Zen in the Art of Drinking, is available from Holy&Intoxicated Publications. Much more on Bradley Mason Hamlin can be found via Mystery Island by clicking here…