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TEEN SOUL POWER
Poems of Addiction
(by those most greatly affected)
“THE TEMPTRESS”
I woo with every charm the tempter knows,
I promise comfort with a secret Leer.
I sooth with liquid fire that smolders with desire
and leaves the ash of caution as it glows.
I lead you down a path so smooth and gay
the specter at the end you do not see,
until you find you must depend on me
to fight the growing panic on the way.
And at the end I leave you to your fate
to learn what I have done to you… too late.
-- Bassett
“I AM…”
I am more powerful than the combined armies
of the world;
I have destroyed more men than all
the wars of the nation;
I have caused millions of accidents and wrecked
more homes than all the floods, tornadoes and
hurricanes put together;
I am the world’s slickest thief.
I steal billions of dollars each year;
I find my victims among the rich and poor alike,
the young and the old, the strong and the weak;
I loom up to such proportions that I cast a
shadow over every field of labor;
I am relentless, insidious, and unpredictable;
I am everywhere – in the home, on the street, in
the factory, in the office, on the sea and in the air;
I bring sickness, poverty and death;
I give nothing and take all;
I am your worst enemy;
I am alcohol.
"I ALONE"
I, alone, fear you every day of my life,
because you are always there.
You are with me when I wake up
and when I go to sleep,
watching and waiting.
I lost everything that meant anything to me
because of you,
my family... and most of all myself.
You raped me of my dignity and integrity,
and for that I am forever scarred.
You have tried to kill more than once,
and empty promises is what you gave to me.
I hate what you have done to me...
you pretended to care but it was all lies.
Please leave me alone... please...
You are my Addiction!
-- April
“I AM AN ALCOHOLIC
AND I NEED HELP.”
I am an alcoholic and I need help.
Don’t allow me to lie to you.
By accepting my lies for truth, you encourage me to lie.
Don’t allow me to outsmart you.
This only teaches me to avoid responsibility
and at the same time, to lose respect for you.
Don’t lecture me, scold me, argue with me or
moralize me when I am high.
Don’t accept promises.
This is just my method of avoiding pain.
Don’t keep switching agreements.
If an agreement is made, stick to it.
Don’t lose your temper with me.
To do so will destroy you, and any possibility of helping me.
Don’t allow your anxiety for me to compel you
to do what I must do for myself.
Don’t cover up the consequences of my abuse of alcohol.
This may reduce the immediate crisis but perpetuates the illness.
Above all, don’t run away from reality as I do.
Alcoholism, my illness, gets worse as my use continues.
I need help from a doctor, a counselor, a psychologist,
a recovered alcoholic, from God.
I cannot do it alone.
When my alcoholic mind has a chance to function,
I know that someone must be firm with me,
even to the point of seeming cruel.
Until you, too, can feel this way, I will remain an alcoholic,
and who knows what else?
If you love me as a person, or, if you only have compassion for me
as another human being desperately in need of help,
you are in a position to give.
Please help me to help myself!!
