Poems About Addiction

Poems about addiction are rampant in rehab groups.  It seems to me that every drug addict under the age of 30 or so takes a stab at telling the world what it was like through verse and rhyme.  People older do it topoetry flashcardo, but it is not as frequent or maybe it is because they don’t share it with the group as much.  Anyway, there are lots of poems about addiction. Indeed, to indulge a stereotype, for women poetry seems to be an essential ingredient in recovery.

I think addicts write poems about addiction because most addicts and alcoholics listen to a lot of music, a form of poetry. I think it is also true because addicts love their drug, at least until the drug turns on them.  I also think it is because many alcoholics are hopeless romantics.  It seems almost a natural inclination for artists, musicians, writers, and what-have-you to be drawn to drugs.

Anyway, good poetry isn’t easy to write.  So it is pretty rare that addiction poems, written by people in recoverym are any good.  But once in a whilem someone does something awesome.  Not because the verse is technically difficult, or it is especially beautiful, but because it tells a human truth, because the story it tells reaches people from all walks of life.  It speaks to the practicing addict, to the addict in recovery, and to the person who loves an addict. It creates understanding, even if only briefly.

Here is one of those poems that is useful.  I found it on the website below and copied it in full.  Snope’s provides a genealogy for this poem but, Snope’s runs fake stories, so the pedigree of the poem may not be true, but it is available at the link below.

http://www.snopes.com/glurge/iammeth.asp

Poem About Addiction

“I AM METH”

(This was written by a young Indian girl who was in jail for drug charges, and was addicted to meth. She wrote this while in jail. As you will soon read, she fully grasped the horrors of the drug, as she tells in this simple, yet profound poem. She was released from jail, but, true to her story, the drug owned her. They found her dead not long after, with the needle still in her arm.)

Please keep praying for our Children, Teens, Young adults. Understand, this thing is worse than any of us realize…

I destroy homes, I tear families apart,
I take your children, and that’s just the start.

I’m more costly than diamonds, more precious than gold,
The sorrow I bring is a sight to behold.

If you need me, remember I’m easily found,
I live all around you – in schools and in town

I live with the rich, I live with the poor,
I live down the street, and maybe next door.

I’m made in a lab, but not like you think,
I can be made under the kitchen sink.

In your child’s closet, and even in the woods,
If this scares you to death, well it certainly should.

I have many names, but there’s one you know best,
I’m sure you’ve heard of me, my name is crystal meth.

My power is awesome, try me you’ll see,
But if you do, you may never break free.

Just try me once and I might let you go,
But try me twice, and I’ll own your soul.

When I possess you, you’ll steal and you’ll lie,
You do what you have to — just to get high.

The crimes you’ll commit for my narcotic charms
Will be worth the pleasure you’ll feel in your arms.

You’ll lie to your mother, you’ll steal from your dad,
When you see their tears, you should feel sad.

But you’ll forget your morals and how you were raised,
I’ll be your conscience, I’ll teach you my ways.

I take kids from parents, and parents from kids,
I turn people from God, and separate friends.

I’ll take everything from you, your looks and your pride,
I’ll be with you always — right by your side.

You’ll give up everything – your family, your home,
Your friends, your money, then you’ll be alone.

I’ll take and take, till you have nothing more to give,
When I’m finished with you, you’ll be lucky to live.

If you try me be warned – this is no game,
If given the chance, I’ll drive you insane.

I’ll ravish your body, I’ll control your mind,
I’ll own you completely, your soul will be mine.

The nightmares I’ll give you while lying in bed,
The voices you’ll hear, from inside your head.

The sweats, the shakes, the visions you’ll see,
I want you to know, these are all gifts from me.

But then it’s too late, and you’ll know in your heart,
That you are mine, and we shall not part.

You’ll regret that you tried me, they always do,
But you came to me, not I to you.

You knew this would happen, many times you were told,
But you challenged my power, and chose to be bold.

You could have said no, and just walked away,
If you could live that day over, now what would you say?

I’ll be your master, you will be my slave,
I’ll even go with you, when you go to your grave.

Now that you have met me, what will you do?
Will you try me or not? It’s all up to you.

I can bring you more misery than words can tell,
Come take my hand, let me lead you to hell.

http://www.snopes.com/glurge/iammeth.asp

Poem on Addiction II

I have no idea who wrote this originally. It is copied onto dozens of websites so I don’t even know who to credit. It is pretty good too.

Let Me Fall All By Myself

If you love me let me fall all by myself.

Don’t try to spread a net out to catch me.

Don’t throw a pillow under my ass to cushion the pain so I don’t have to feel it.

Don’t stand in the place I am going to land so that you can break the fall (allowing yourself to get hurt instead of me) …

Let me fall as far down as my addiction is going to take me, let me walk the valley alone all by myself, let me reach the bottom of the pit … trust that there is a bottom there somewhere even if you can’t see it. The sooner you stop saving me from myself, stop rescuing me, trying to fix my broken-ness, trying to understand me to a fault, enabling me …

The sooner you allow me to feel the loss and consequences, the burden of my addiction on my shoulders and not yours … the sooner I will arrive … and on time … just right where I need to be … me, alone, all by myself in the rubble of the lifestyle I lead … resist the urge to pull me out because that will only put me back at square one …

If I am allowed to stay at the bottom and live there for awhile … I am free to get sick of it on my own, free to begin to want out, free to look for a way out, and free to plan how I will climb back up to the top. In the beginning as I start to climb out .. I just might slide back down, but don’t worry I might have to hit bottom a couple more times before I make it out safe and sound …

Don’t you see ?? Don’t you know ?? You can’t do this for me … I have to do it for myself, but if you are always breaking the fall how am I ever suppose to feel the pain that is part of the driving force to want to get well. It is my burden to carry, not yours …

I know you love me and that you mean well and a lot of what you do is because you don’t know what to do and you act from your heart not from knowledge of what is best for me … but if you truly love me let me go my own way, make my own choices be they bad or good … don’t clip my wings before I can learn to fly … Nudge me out of your safety net … trust the process and pray for me … that one day I will not only fly, but maybe even soar.