A powerful and thought provoking piece, dear Damian! Puppets on the string which move to every command of the puppeteer are easily to control…
To follow the drum of your heartbeat was a good idea! Your free rhyming flows easily and naturally!

Excellent, see .. this is what happens when free verse becomes you .. its all prose from here and no cons .. write on .. Neville

I HATE corporations and Politicians. Your poem strikes a nerve which I can easily understand and agree with.

This is really good cuz. I don’t like politics, but you write this so well.

Thanks so much for reading and your kind words, Mary. So glad you connected with the write my friend. Back at ya.. Appreciate you.

Damian

Fantastic work, my friend.

Two verses yet they tell the whole truth…. I don’t know how the human mind and spirit will survive and deal with all these negative rushes all around and everywhere… The problem that even when You are conscious and doing what You should do, the environment around You is saying another thing, and we both know how the surrounding affects us and now we need extra extra work! Yes I do appreciate old times. Great write my friend.

You know, the number of poetic rants I’ve written this year alone actually depresses me. It never seems to end. Spilling their lies and spewing their hate on the daily. Everyone I know is numb and fighting fatigue from it all. I’ll keep spilling truth if you do, my friend

Powerfully penned, Fia. Excellent storytelling as always my friend. The final battle was intense. Seems like a bittersweet ending to me. Even in death the mother left a mark. Appreciate you, cuz.

Damian

Ouch’ that’s taking mother love a tad too far methinks .. Just who’s side are you on he asked? Matricide, she replied .. Just ripe for Halloween my queen🩸🖤🐦‍⬛🐦‍⬛🦇🦇😎👍

A very engaging story.
Troubling and sinister.
Regards James

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.

Thank you for the good news Fia 🙏🏻

beautiful thank you ❤️

Thanks, Fia. Appreciate you, cuz.

Damian

How cool is that .. I Know for a fact that besides me, there will be many others who are grateful for this update and accompanying good news .. Neville 😎👍