The Swan Song of the Addict

Thinking about the struggle that I had, thinking about Chris Cornell, here is my poem to Chris and those who still fight the good fight of sobriety, each and every day:

The Swan Song of the Addict

The moment, 

the dire of the situation

it rips the soul

tears at the brain.

Years of hard work

rebuilt towers of love

leveling of the scale

glint in the eye.

I understand Chris,

I get why

the momentous, contentious

moment you felt you had to die.

Only those un-beloved few

who have walked those dark paths

faded memories 

hatchet days of using.

I know the constant hover

the elation

the missing of the brother

that took us from creation.

You forgot the sins of the father

they leave us 

and bother

we bring them back

and they render us to fodder.

I will miss your chords

your strumming melodies

I will miss the story you had lived

the problem you and I share lives in the bodies

of the born wrong

it was your fatal swan song

goodbye my brother in the addicts struggle.

Reviews

[Annette Pisano-Higley]

Eloquent, honest, moving tribute to Chris Cornell. Lyrical description of "born wrong" addicts' struggle to survive on a moment to moment basis. "Hatchet days of using"-raw and evocative imagery. Empathy for a lost "brother"- " I will miss your chords..your strumming melodies..." As will we all. Thank you.