It was stupid,

let me tell you why.

It was stupid because

I wasted ten years

drinking wine coolers.

Those colorful, excessively

phony beverages for adults

to convince them they’re

really drinking. I fell for the

ploy of the commercials 

that made them look 

trendy and cool. Fell

for the displays in the 

grocery stores laughingly

placed at the entrance 

of the liquor department.

Below signs of sandy

beaches and under 

cardboard arches of

turquoise sky.

It was stupid. I never

wondered why I didn’t 

get a buzz. Or even

knew what a buzz 

WAS. Just kept 

drinking, kept buying them.

Kept asking for them, 

thinking it was a lovely

gift. Not knowing any better.

I don’t remember when I

first drank tequila. But that

day, something in my soul

rejoiced. Because it knew,

from that very first shot,

the wine coolers became 

a footnote in my memory.

Then I knew what a 

buzz was. And the elation

involved in having and 

maintaining it. 

Those prior years, I can’t

get back. So I move forward

with the knowledge in a 

tightly clasped hand, refusing 

to let go.

It was stupid because I was.

But I’m not,

anymore.

Shontay Luna was born in Chicago and is trying, in her own quietly desperate way, to make her city known for something besides pizza and Al Capone. Follow her on Twitter @Shontay_Luna.