Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. I was just looking back through some stuff from when I first started trying this recovery thing and found this little poem I wrote a few years ago. Don''t remember the exact date, but I think I was still detoxing, with the doors locked, the blinds closed, the phone off the hook, and a diet of coffee and cigarettes. I think I'd only been to one or two NA meetings around this time, anyway I think back to this time and I can almost feel the pain and horror of withdrawal all over again. Don't know how many can relate to this but for whatever its worth, here it is.

COMMON THREADS

WE KNOW THE PAIN,
WE'VE ALL BEEN THERE.
THE PIPE, THE NEEDLE,
OUR NERVES RIPPED BARE.

THE LYING, THE STEALING,
THE CHEATING AND SUCH.
THEN FINALLY ONE DAY,
IT'S ALL JUST TOO MUCH.

WE'RE SCARED, WE'RE LONELY,
SICK AND CONFUSED.
WE'VE FINALLY HIT BOTTOM,
THERE'S NO MORE TO LOSE.

THE BOTTOM IS DIFFERENT,
NOT THE SAME FOR US ALL.
JAILS, INSTITUTIONS, AND
DEATH TO US CALL.

WE WANT TO FEEL BETTER,
WE JUST DON'T KNOW HOW.
BUT WE ARE LIKE CHILDREN,
AND WE WANT IT RIGHT NOW!

WE HEAR OF A GROUP,
OF FOLKS LIKE OURSELVES.
THEY'VE PLACED THE PAIN,
ON THE BACK OF THE SHELVES.

TOGETHER AS ONE,
THEY CREATE A STRONG BUFFER.
THEY REACH OUT TO ALL OF US,
ADDICTS WHO SUFFER.

LET'S CRAWL OUT OF HIDING,
AND GET ON OUR WAY.
THIS GROUP CAN HELP US,
JUST FOR TODAY.