acid reflux
if you find yourself in a group of people,
expect to have a fight on your hands.
they will call you a pseudo-intellectual,
but what they don’t understand is that
they have fallen foul to the erudite charms
of pretentious pretenders.
pour yourself a glass of wine
and see how they come out of
the woodwork to criticise the
smoothness of your pour, the
cleanliness of the glass, and the
quality of the wine.
throughout it all, you will
find yourself trying to prove
your worth to glassy-eyed
folk who refuse to acknowledge
your worth and prowess because
they deem themselves to be prettier
than you, more intelligent,
and worth knowing.
as I drift off to sleep at night,
I get bad acid reflux.
I’ve come to the astute conclusion
that it isn’t the coffee that causes it,
it’s the knowledge that nobody
will see you for who you are.
they gag you by shoving torn
up poetry into your mouth and
taping chocolate buttons to your
eyes.
Courtenay S. Gray is a writer from the North of England. She has been featured in publications such as Maudlin House, Daily Drunk Mag and Red Fez. Nominations: Pushcart Prize (2020) / Runner up for the 2021 Literary Lancashire Award in Poetry. STRAWBERRY/Alien Buddha Press. Twitter: @courtenaywrites / Blog: http://www.courtenayscorner.com