Once you have awoken it, the beast no longer sleeps

            &nb sp;                       It feasts upon your very soul

            &nb sp;                        What secret vows it keeps

            &nb sp;       Babies born into it's grasp, stare with solemn eyes

            &nb sp;     Knowing only shame and guilt, quick is thier demise

            &nb sp;    Family bonds are fractured, children's cries unheard

            &nb sp;         Truth is unrecognizable, life becomes a blur

            &nb sp;                    The path, once light, is darker

            &nb sp;                      Each day brings forth a test

            &nb sp;       Bleary eyed you travel on, the beast is on a quest

            &nb sp;       It devours your ambitions, regurgitating pain

          Your emotions now are tempered, your mind, now it's domain

            &nb sp;  Promises quick to wither, sometimes forever doomed

           Thoughts become a mangled mess, where evil spirits loom  

            &nb sp;    Many lives it does devour, trading drugs for souls

            &nb sp;            It's hunger grows with each new day

            &nb sp;                      Addiction takes it's toll.

            &nb sp;                         &nb sp;                         &nb sp;           --Cheri T--  

(From napatti's blog of  Nov. 21, 2006)