Right on, man. Such an inspiring write! Addiction is very much like a ghost, haunting each moment of our lives. I am so happy you were able to push through and maintain. If you ever had any doubt, this poem is proof, that you absolutely do not need alcohol to conjure beauty and meaning on the page.

The last two lines in the third octet scream truth in my mind. Very, very wise.

Clay

Stay true to yourself and keep on pushing forward. Rock on dude!! Great piece of poetry

I love the honesty in this. What a purge of the soul amigo!
This has so much in it. It had its own evolution.
Just terrific!

That’s poetry for ya folks .. Bloomin brill my friend .. Neville 😎👍

“My pen became a sword
poetry served as pseudo armor”

Amazing how many of us are among this army. Accepting help is so hard. Especially if you’ve rarely been offered a hand. And we’re all kinda programmed to ‘suck it up’…like being human is a weakness. Stripped raw & flushing the wounds here, brutal honesty at its finest, my friend

This poem is raw, honest, and deeply moving. Knowing you wrote it just months into your sobriety makes it even more powerful –your pen becomes both sword and shield, guiding you from darkness to hope. A beautiful testament to resilience and the strength of new beginnings.

I sat on my back deck with my brew and just read this.Some of the best and worst words come together there….right?

I enjoyed this piece.👍

This is chilling and deeply resonant. The way you transition from the ordinary calm of a morning brew to a dark, haunting spiral is so effective, leading right up to the sharp edge of “living in the USA.”

​The shift from “perfect memories” down the “woodchuck hole” into Shadowland is a brilliant and clever way to illustrate how easily we drift into isolation and self-absorption. It’s a dark and honest piece, just how I like my morning coffee. Great write!

This is brilliant, dear redzone, a masterpiece! Your imagery and the comparisons are very well crafted and breathtaking. There is nothing more threatening than to let the core of your being die while you are alive, and go on living unaware, merciless and without interest in the people around you.

I love, love ‘downhome” type writings. it’s my own start back in the day, so I have a fondness for what others can describe.
You succeeded wonderfully. The core value of what you were after stays true throughout the write. So the reader can sense that too, effortlessly.
Great stuff.