.
Don't drink and drive they always say.
It's bad, it's dangerous, it's wrong.
We all agree, and nod our heads,
Without taking in the words.
Does it imply "do not get tipsy"?
Does it imply "do not get smashed"?
Or do we mean "not" altogether,
Even if only just a glass?
Yet those who do, somehow, always,
Find ways to rationalize all this:
"It's just a beer", "it's still quite early",
"This is allowed within the law".
They do not see the bigger picture
Where their own actions pave the road
To something gruesome, something morbid,
A consequence with no reverse.
Don't drink and drive.
The phrase ends there.
No ifs or buts, nor room
For any kind of negotiations,
No fine print for you to read
Or conditions to abide by.
Each drop that travels down your throat
Is a drop one too many.
Your trust in limits, time and friends
Should not be put up to the test,
That devil sitting on your shoulder
Wiped out with no remorse.
Don't drink and drive,
A simple phrase.
One with an end and a beginning.
So let the period be the end
And "No" the beginning.
