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Hello!! I'm new here so my apologies if I don't make much sense. I wanted to say that the tactile imagery you utilized in the line 'caress the back of my throat' was very well placed! It immediately immersed me into the narrative (by appealing to my senses) along with theme (due to the use of the word caress, making me think of a loving touch/relationship). I think the placement of that line is really neat, you've set up the perfect intro. almost like a thesis, you've conveyed your message even within the first few lines. juxtaposing the sensation of a sting to that of a caress. Conveying that one cannot exist without the other.

I truly love the sentiment/message that you conveyed. The way I interpret it, it means to say that you shouldn't abstain from love for fear of getting hurt, because the reason that hurt exists is because you had something that meant enough to you that losing it caused you pain. Sure pain can suck, but it makes you appreciate what you had. As they say; it's bet

Really great imagery you've got here! I was picturing someone flipping a coin back and forth across their fingers as I read this, thinking of the love they've lost or had to let go, contemplating if love was worth it.
You've also managed to bring across some very subtle musicality and rhythm without rhyming.
Only thing I'd change is removing the final "spend wisely", as it takes away from the, I think, more fitting conclusion of "without it, my friends what is life".

I love how the first two lines can make the reader feel it immediately. The first paragraph and the lines 'For to love is to live and though pain it may give  
without it, my friends what is life...' are my favourites. I agree with what was previously suggested that the penultimate line would make a better ending than the last line of the poem. I love the concept/idea of this poem and the use of the coin metaphor to illustrate it. To me the third stanza and the next two lines feels more like prose than poetry. I love this poem, thanks for sharing and keep writing :)

**Whiskey**

I want to feel the sting of straight liquor

caress the back of my throat

like the stretched kiss of lovers

parting ways for the unknown.

&amp;#x200B;

It is this flip side on the coin of love

that gives life its beauty

for the deep trenches that scar the heart

only reflect the love of the other side.

&amp;#x200B;

It’s not until we are faced

with the other side of the farewell kiss

that we know the true value

of the coin we once held

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

With pennies saved of love unspent

one is sure to pay the ultimate price

&amp;#x200B;

For to love is to live and though pain it may give

without it, my friends what is life...

&amp;#x200B;

spend wisely...

&amp;#x200B;

[https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/w5qwrn/ways\_of\_being\_alive/](https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/w5qwrn/ways_of_being_alive/)

[https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/w5kbn8/crosscut\_saw/](https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/w5kbn8/crosscut_saw/)