Relapse

Meghan

A nice addition to the collection
of drug poems.

Short-direct-hard hitting.

The second stanza is deep and has
so many levels to it.

Write on,

S'

p.s-1st line, 2nd stanza,

Did you mean 'fall off'?

You are absolutely right! I meant "off". Thank you for your comment and continued support :)

i know how you feel.. this was great!!

Thanks K! Nice to know I'm not the only one who feels this way!

especially...
It's easy to fall off the bandwagon
when the ride is treacherous;
even easier to jump off the bandwagon
when the ride is no fun.

sooo true, great job megan !

and have you put this poem on here before or on another site or something because i've definitely read this before ? i know i remember the 2nd part because it is so true to recovery

I do have another poetry blog via Quiet Write and I believe it's on that too. Or maybe I had it up here and deleted it. I don't remember, lol. But thanks again for reading! Always appreciate your comments and support :)

I like the streamlined, honest feel to this piece. I might change the first line to "A tally on my bedroom mirror -" to make it less specific/conversational, but that's just a minor stylistic preference. Good deal here.

Thanks Mike! Always appreciate you stopping by :)

As for the first line, do you mean get rid of "I keep" ? Or to capitalize the "A"?

I meant dropping "I keep," yes, it would move the focus from you tallying to the tally itself (and its significance). Though reading it over again it's really fine how it is.

All drugs can cause DEPENDENCE....and getting off them may be VERY DIFFICULT....telling somebody to JUST QUIT is about a useful as TELLING A FAT PERSON - JUST LOSE WEIGHT...If it was easy to do...nobody would be addicted or fat.
Good luck on your journey to wellness

Thank you so much SLIH! Appreciate you reading and your support. You are so right! It's not easy ... but I'm slowly, but surely getting there :)

Great poem! Short but powerful! Staying clean is so difficult, It's a battle us addicts will have to fight for the rest of our lives. I wish you the best of luck, stay strong :-)

Thanks so much for reading! Your words are so true. It's a lifelong battle. But I appreciate the good luck wishes ... every little bit helps :)

right there with ya.

This cuts to the heart of what addiction is all about. You have an advantage here by realizing this that most addicts never gain. Addiction is not some external force of good and evil outside of you, it is a problem inside. We want life both ways. Some times you feel you want drugs because you desire the pleasures and celebrations that they bring with them. At the same time the very same you also wants not to do drugs because of the physical and social train wreck they have as their destination. They both are you... as is the person who makes the decision between them. Becoming sober comes from a series of single decisions, as does "falling off," as does becoming clean again. The trick is to structure your life so that these single decisions become permanent decisions. Honor those decisions. Make them stronger. Don't let the fact that you are also the person who wants to be fun lead you into believing that you are sick or just TRYING to quit. You did quit, then you decided something else, then you quit again. This time try to make it stick.