Spreading The Disease

The sobering effects of alcoholism

  

It was a nightly routine

For a young boy with dreams

Door slamming, playtime ending

All the sudden I wasn’t Superman

With booze on his breath

And a belt in his hand.

 

Before I’d sleep I’d pray

I would have the strength to survive

And be a man unlike him.

 

Spreading the disease

It is him, is it me

Spreading the disease

I need the cure, help me please.

 

It was a daily routine

Living my life in clouded denial

Downing whiskey for recreation

Till a night of flashing blue lights

With my son on life support

I sobered up by his side.

 

Forgoing sleep I just prayed

He would make it through the night

So he can grow up not like me.

 

Spreading the disease

That is me, please not him

Spreading the disease

I lost the cure, help me please.

 

It was a constant routine

Partying up in a college atmosphere

Drinking games till the sun came up

Then came the morning he never woke up

When the tearful call came I knew

I passed on my sickness

 

Forever sleeping I just prayed

God would not forsake him

For the mistakes I made.

 

Spreading the disease

I passed it on, what have I done

Spreading the disease

The only cure came at a price.

 

Author's Note

The sobering reality of alcoholism and how it can be passed on to the children

Reviews

[closed account]

A very powerful message here, I am sure many can relate even if they don't want to admit it! I love poetry that has a hidden meaning, that has truth and provides a relation to someone, I know many who have a problem in drinking my father had one and thank God to this day he is a very sober man for the past 10 years. I hope this can help someone and help then wake up before it's too late!! Amazing, and well done.

;-)

[ABitBrokenPoetry]

i love the way this flows. the story it tells, the point it makes. the continuous cycle of alcohol/ addiction/ mental illnesses that keep moving from generation to generation. i can relate. i love the repetition, it really adds to the poem. a very sad piece, but very true. things like this happen every day. & its always the most innocent people who pay the price. a great, dark, but enlightening write.

[Z]

Man......I can't tell you how much this touched me. I am 19 days sober with a 16 year old daughter 3 states away, I'm about to enter rehab. I pray to God she doesn't end up like me. It took courage for you to share this, and I commend you for doing so. Thank you.

[Ebb and Flow]

This was so powerful it made me cry.

[DarkAngelWriter]

Wow. Excellent piece. I'm in tears as we speak.

I hate that you missed the competition, but this site's times are different than mine o.O I intended for it to close Friday at midnight, but obviously, it closed earlier.

I love it. Thanks for writing. :)

[Ladysue]

OMG, Dale, this was so well done. Yes, you captured this so well. So profoundly sad, yet such a truism. Excellently done!!!

[octane143]

Goosebumps and tears! You captured the insanity so well...I know I am a recovering junkie and alcoholic. Few people realize or will admit to the effects it has on our children and the people around us. Very well done, maybe it will help open some people's eyes. Very well done!

[vanishing]

there is some truth to this, seems likesome children are victims of abuse in more ways then one.
i'm sure many can relate, this is an eye opening work to ponder, Great Job!

[Angelic Darkness]

This is sad, and so true that this could happen to anyone, and yet we don't realize how we are destrying our lives or our loved ones life until it's too late. Thanks for sharing. AD

[Valerie Dean Belew]

I love this poem, but then I would. I am, after all, a Certified Substance Abuse Professional. I also have a serious drug history. I was going to invite you to read Living poor, because I need comments on it, as my first memoir, and one that has received at least one very bad review as being dry and dull. I am wondering if my idea is even worth pursuing, as it was an attempt to reach out, and relate to others who are also losing businesses and careers to our present recession. Perhaps the idea is good, and only the style needs to change.

But this poem causes me to want to ask you to begin reading Undercover, a novel about methamphetamine addiction in Atlanta. It also causes me to want to ask you to read the lyrics listed in A river in Egypt, lyrics of denial and addiction. Your review on Living Poor, would still be appreciated, but this poem demonstrates your ability to review lyrics about addiction, as well as my novel, Undercover. It doesnt matter if this lyric is a true story, or something you only imagined, because it demonstrates empathy and understanding of addicted persons. It is the deepest of your writing I have read so far, as Kelli and I joke about your erotica on a constant basis. She is a personal friend of mine, someone who attends writing groups with me locally, in Georgia. Anyway, this is a very insightful poem, and one I rate very highly. I hope this is not true, because it is so tragic, but it is true of someone, somewhere, whether it is your story or not. Very good and effective writing, cowboy, keep it up.