2 oz. light rum

3 oz. ginger ale

1/2 oz lime juice.

optional dash of bitters

Ahab is without a first name

having lost more than a leg

on his first meeting with the

great white whale who —

                                   unlike

the pimento whose color

adds little to the olive —

                                    was

the driving force behind

My-name-is-Captain-and-

I’m-an-addict’s qualification

for a 12-step program.

Which is why a Moby-Dick is

a garnished mixed metaphor

either shaken or stirred

best served at last call.

James W. Gaynor lives in New York City and is the author of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice in 61 Haiku and 20 Poems about Love + Marriage Inappropriate 4 Weddings.