I get it from my mother
he tells me as he sways
on the kerb
I look at him
that vacant stare
and think of those instructions tucked away
inside each and every cell
and I shake my head and wonder
how many of them had read that page
how many of them had built up those proteins
that made him want more and more
to the point where he threatened the barmaid
and knocked over two drinks
how many of them had worked away
at him until he split
how many of them were like his mother’s