VINEGAR by perletwo

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Found on the back of a shipping invoice in the cargo hold of a U.S.-bound 747

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There is a vineyard, it is said,
That yields the richest fruits,
And they that toil there know
They make the sweetest wine.

It lies somewhere just beyond
The next hill, the next horizon,
They say; but it does remain
Ever just beyond one's reach.

All my life I've craved
the potency of that vintage;
All else tasted first of gall,
Then of sugared sherry.

At last I found a vessel
Of thick opaque glass
Brimful with a liquor
So strong it turns heads.

But be it once uncorked
And exposed to air
That golden nectar changed
Into the taste of vinegar.

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scribbled beneath that, in a far less formal hand

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Christ, all this time and I can't believe I *still* suck at this!

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