Add i c t
Add i c t …
Add i c t
He’s been more than a little ill
and missed you more and more each day
He cries your name; you noxious thrill,
To come and steal his breath away
The jangle that your flagon makes,
Is music to his dying ears
This time again… the pain you’ll take,
Then wrench his strings you puppeteer
The walls these nights, portray as friends
they hold him up when falling down
They view him through a different lens
Sometimes they make him want to drown
And drown he does, his trust is gone,
Coughed up some blood from time-to-time,
So many ways, we’ve read him wrong—
He’s overdosed on every line
He drives it down with bourbon shots
relic scars from upon his tongue
and real people, his mind’s forgot
his tears submerging all his lungs
The liquor store’s still open late
Weekends alone; a legless mess
The spirits tell him dig in crates
To hide affairs, he must confess
Endorphins dress in colored coats
Restraint the revelry addressed
still chasing anguish down his throat
Perhaps an overdose is best
They taught him not to even care
The best paved roads have good intent
He feigns like he was never there
The hard footsteps towards abstinence.
A quick debate with eyes unclosed
The mirror brings such pain to both
with eyes exposed, all sins exposed
his milquetoast parry lacks in growth
The rubble from sin worshipping
a suicide installment plan
this prison world a fickle thing
It covets all his holy lands.
“Welcome to hell!” a sign decried,
Flopping upon his prison door
A keepsake, foul, of times he died
the road maps on the wrist he bore.
In tortured trips into ERs
To flatlines bouncing back to life
Electroshock and heart valve scars
A passage to the coroner’s knife
Insane, a vice, this mental state,
His life remains to flirt with death.
She grants him pass, to find his ways
To grass and stone and final breath.
We pledged ourselves, these crusade kids
The bringers of a better day
To days when bottles close their lids
And life begets the righteous way.
~~~
For more works by this author see Paul Neglia on The Creative Exiles.
You can also see more great work by Paul Neglia on HubPages.
- Check the Pond for Quacks - February 27, 2025
- A Moment Away - June 21, 2023
- Wall Fly Reporting - June 21, 2023
Welcome back, Paul. I enjoyed reading this poem. As always you have a gifted skill at word play and phrases. Well done.
Thank you Phyllis. I know the topic i chose is sometimes a difficult one, but I had to write, it was the first time in a while where the words flowed so easily for me. Thanks for the welcome back. I hope to be posting more in the future.
You are most welcome, Paul. I love it that you feel free to write on TCE and let those words of wisdom come as they may. I love reading your works. You inspire me to delve deeper within myself for poetry.
A dark but powerful piece, Paul, that captured the life of an addict expertly. It is great to see your writing mojo is back. You are too good a poet for the ink of your pen to not be flowing freely.
Really appreciate that comment my friend. I am hoping that I’ve freed myself from the prison of writer’s block and am ready to continue writing. Thank you again for your kind words.
Well crafted poem on a difficult but important topic. Thank you Paul. I am myself a recovering Alcoholic and Drug Addict over ten years sober. Jamie
Congratulations on that accomplishment Jamie. You should be proud of yourself. Thank you for your kind words I really appreciate them.
As John said a dark, but powerful piece John. I do not know anyone that has not had their life touched by someone or themselves being an addict. It is always heartbreaking the outcome of these types of relationships. One can only hope that the addict can find their way through the darkness and over come the addiction. You showed the reader the power of your poetry… very well done.
Thank you so much Kurt. I agree I don’t think i know anyone that has not been affected by some form of addiction whether it’s that person, a friend, or a loved one. It sucks. The hope is definitely that they will make it out on the healthy side of the addiction. Much appreciation again for reading and commenting Kurt.