You are game Damian. Hope all is well
Bat

Okay, so this one took me somewhere unexpected. I had the sense of a long battle, a truce that ends the fight but not the enmity…so the enemy is kept within sight. No idea why that’s where this took me. My sister has been sober about the same length of time as you and she keeps a partial bottle of liquor up on top of her cabinet to remind her the enemy is real and not dead. She never touches it, but it reminds her of the darkness it carried, the times she lost and the gains she’s made. Keep the enemy in sight but don’t engage. That takes enormous strength, my friend

Dude, I continue to enjoy a few Beam and gingers here and there. I don’t go out nearly as much as I used to, actually barely I’d say. But, I have learned that control is my friend. As much as I enjoy the time out with friends, etc, I know that there is a rational limit to it all. The best part is how much money I’ve saved! Really. I have a future/goals and now understand priorities much clearer. I never thought I had a problem, until I realized how much time and money as used up in it all.
That and how most bar friends can be quite fickle.
Your write is on point. The characters we encounter, the thoughts, the situations… all of it.

This is nothing short of brilliant .. and quite possibly now very near the top of my Damian DeadLove faves .. Not only that, but it also sits so pretty on the page .. 😎👍

It is taking me a while to get around to the writings, but this is a powerful piece. She’s the lore to a familiar trap. I mean, man that is temptation at its finest.

“Cruelty hides within a fractured observation

So much disconnect fuels everyday frustration”

Yes.. yes this had me nodding my head. I like how you created this.

Thanks so much for reading and your kind words, PAR. So glad you connected with the write my friend. I’m blown away as always by your supportive commentary brother and it really means a lot me. I’m just sharing the lessons learned from my journey in this life. Appreciate you.

Damian

Thanks so much for reading and your kind words, Clay. So glad you connected with the write my friend. Thank you so much for your continued support it really means a lot to me. Appreciate you.

Damian

Thanks so much for reading and your kind words, Mark. So glad you connected with the write my friend. I’ve been rhyming for so long as a writer that it’s become muscle memory. I don’t write many free verse poems because no more than I pen a couple of stanza’s I’ve already started rhyming without even thinking about it. lol. By that time I like what I got already, so why go back and take out the rhymes and lose the plot. I don’t count syllables because I’m too lazy for one thing and I always write while listening to music, so I guess I’m following the drummer. Or my wife thinks I follow my heartbeat which I guess could be the case, since I have wrote without listening to tunes it’s just not very often. Appreciate you.

Damian

I bet you feel so much better now this is out here and presumably doing the rounds .. well penned my literary friend .. Neville

I think it’s funny how everyone (including me) noticed the perfect rhyme schemes.

Favorite lines: Everyone’s got a story what’s yours?

He’s unable to read between the lines

Looking different behind closed doors

She’s left all alone where hatred dines

Jealousy can tear two people apart as easy as a bird tears the limbs of a mouse.

Another fine poem, Damian.

There is so much in this one, and too many amazing lines to quote. This is a masterpiece in subtle storytelling, if one pays attention. That question of what’s your story carries a lot more weight than meets the casual eye. Because how do you answer that? My sweetie always says “Be more specific? I could answer from a dozen different angles, all truth, and still not answer what you’re asking.” Another incredible piece, my friend

That opening line is an attention grabber.
I’m loving these with the couplets and rhyme scheme.
Excellent work sir.

This is really good and there is nothing wrong with living on the edge.

Thanks so much for reading and your kind words, Neville. So glad you connected with the write my friend. I like those two stanzas a lot as well. Always thankful for your continued support. Appreciate you.

Damian

Dear D,

This piece brings in memories of writing letters, buying actual record albums, listening to the radio on an actual radio. I greatly appreciated the thought process in this write and the subtle warning to be aware of things lurking about. Terrific write. H🌷

Thanks so much for reading and your kind words, Keith. So glad you connected with the write my friend. Just trying something different. Appreciate you.

Damian

Dreams are casting doubt once again
It sometimes seems it’s so deliberate
Like a stiff jab landing across the chin

Fantastic, absolutely fantastic.

I walked through this one like the aisles of record stores, and frantically scribbling in my spiral bound notebooks, and trying to survive in a world full of so much that sorting it out became impossible…so we just chose live in the music and the words. The conversations that felt monumental then…come back today and feel even more incredibly relevant. But we hadn’t thought of them in years. Like the binding of time through word and thought. So hard to feel those moments in a time like now, when everything is fake news and nothing can be trusted. You took me on a journey here, my friend

Great vibe on this one, nostalgic but also fond of warm memories.
Nicely penned.

Love this poem.. it’s elegant and sensual !! Well written!