These words look so pretty when pinned to the page like this .. and the message they make up, has that for real flavour to it .. its never easy tho to quit or get clean tho’ is it .. Bravo for sharing these insights .. just keep taking it one day at a time and write on .. Neville

I spotted the songs hidden within. Yeah, I’ve been lucky being I never participated in alcohol or drugs. They were everywhere but I declined and I’m glad for it.

You’re a courageous guy for being able to go through that and come out sane. (and a great writer). I’ve known people who couldn’t do it and spiraled into oblivion. Good on you, Damian.

Powerful work.

You’re a marvelous writer Damian. This is well written and quite honest. Great work!

Thanks so much for reading and your kind words, Mary. So glad you connected with the write my friend. It is a reward to get second chance, but it was important for me to understand why and how I became so addicted in the first place. I understand me better now, I’ve even slowly started to like myself a little. lol. That’s my true transformation my friend. Appreciate you.

Damian

My best friend from middle school has been sober for over 17 years. I’m so proud of her.
It took her pound of flesh though. Completely different person when drunk. Mean, violent, and in all honesty sometimes sad.
No one wakes up in the morning and says I want to be an alcoholic. The struggle was real and I am so thankful she got sober.
Hang in there and tell the voices to shut the hell up. You got this. One day at a time.

Superb. You nailed it, my friend.

Hauntingly raw and beautifully concise — each line cuts deep with emotional clarity and poetic rhythm. Appreciate you, Damian.

I’ve always felt that if you’re still going…even limping…you’re not broken. You’re fractured. Those fractures heal with aches same as breaks, we both know that. You are fierce in your approach to truth, my friend

When it comes to the heart matters it is always difficult, very difficult to separate the feelings from the mind and make sense of everything… Unfortunately, sometimes we learn in the hard and painful way, and sometimes we need years to completely get over it and grow, the pain is real here, well written my friend.

It is very bewitching. When he tells you to stay calm so his monster does not come out. nice

Crimsin, both tender and fiery this poem is. He tries to elicit your soft side but his true nature brings out the lioness. Great poem as I have come to expect from you.

John

Beautifully penned, Brenda. Incredible write my friend. Appreciate you.

Damian

Brilliant work. Powerful.

Brenda, you amaze me with, “of others playing on different courts.” Love that line.

A lovely & fragile piece of poetry Brenda. You always seem to amaze. Great work here.

Sounds rough and sad to me at the same time.

Well now, Benjamin 🍷

Here, in this gobsmacking piece, is the exact point of issue I was making when you mentioned being “an undisciplined Free Verse poet” … there’s nothing about this poem but an excellent use of skillful poetic devices to command the reader to halt, proceed, imagine, and “feel” every moment, twist, turn, and diversion into your wondrously rendered world of abstract, mind-bending ambiguation, and I say this while sitting here bulge-eyed and jaw-dropped, not only from your phantasmagorical diction of verbosity, but how you’ve used white-space to create mood and imagery, while capturing and holding your readers’ spellbound attention.

Sheesh, M’Friend, it’ll take awhile to shake this one from my consciousness!
Good, really GOOD stuff, Syr Poet! Thanks for the rare experience! ⁓ Richard🖌

I feel this piece. Nice

I hear that man. Cool write.