Mar 2018
The capsule breaks
Endorphins flood the body
and for a moment
Stillness
Still as the thief in the night,
Trying to steal one more ounce of relief,
before it all fades away.
But, only for a moment
Moments are all that is left anymore
Grasping frantically,
trying to catch what is already fleeting
Until
They are gone
Desperate for one more
One more moment
One last time
One last pill
Then
Silence.
Endorphins flood the body
and for a moment
Stillness
Still as the thief in the night,
Trying to steal one more ounce of relief,
before it all fades away.
But, only for a moment
Moments are all that is left anymore
Grasping frantically,
trying to catch what is already fleeting
Until
They are gone
Desperate for one more
One more moment
One last time
One last pill
Then
Silence.
In the height of the opioid crisis it is easy to think of addicts as "junkies." I have to remind myself daily they are simply trying to fight against their brain to feel normal again. I wrote this poem about a week after I witnessed someone who overdosed get dumped in the hospital parking as their "friend" drove off.
