How can you be sober,
when pain claws at your insides,
when suffering pours like acid rain
onto the fertile ground of your heart?

Each moment is a jagged edge,
each breath a reminder
of wounds that refuse to close.
You walk through shadows,
stumbling over shards of yesterday’s hope,
eyes searching for light,
for a way out of the labyrinth
of your own mind.

Suffering is a heavy coat,
draped over your shoulders,
weighing you down,
pressing your spirit into the earth,
making every step a battle,
every smile a distant memory.

Yet, here you are,
standing in the midst of the storm,
eyes clear, soul fierce.
You feel the pain, the sorrow,
the gnawing ache that never quite leaves,
and still you choose to face it,
to look it in the eye,
to stand unyielding.

Sober, you confront the world
with raw courage,
bearing the scars,
letting them tell your story.
You feel every stab, every burn,
and still, you rise,
unbroken, unbowed,
a testament to the strength
that suffering cannot diminish,
to the resilience
that pain cannot erase.

In the midst of chaos,
you are a calm eye,
a steady flame,
a beacon to those lost in the dark.
Sober, you feel it all,
and in feeling, you heal,
piece by piece,
breath by breath,
transforming suffering into wisdom,
pain into power,
until the weight lifts,
and you stand,
free.