The glass vial

Deep into the tinted glass vial
I gazed and thought about 
The colour of the content. 
Could it produce a liquid sun?
Could it acquaint Death 
In a day? Could it be bitter? 
I wondered, as I raised it up,
An offence against the tongue—
Almost cinchonic, bister bark 
Harsh and high across the palate.
Impressive garboil!
With viscous determination to
Stretch the throat a little more,
To move the shape of the mouth 
A little more, into one gouging "O".

Dale Chou
2012-06-11