Rise Above: From Fool to Sage

Once a fool in folly's sway, I strolled astray,

Substance and spirits, my chosen way,

Lost in vices, blind and cruel,

I found pleasure in playing the fool.

 

Matured and wise, I tread anew,

Leaving behind the intoxicating brew.

Curiosity and inspiration, my new friends,

As down sobriety's road, around its bends, I wend.

 

That intoxicated fool was but not me,

A shell of a person, lost at sea.

Like a phoenix from the ashes of my past,

I rise above, free at last.

 

In wisdom's garden, the former fool found pace,

Unmasked the fear, embraced a new face.

No longer a puppet to past's toxic wine,

I live, I learn, in the present, I'm just fine.

 

Remembering the past, not with guilt or regret,

But as lessons learned, I'll never forget.

Once a fool, I may have been,

But now, a wiser soul, you've seen.

 

© Susie Stiles-Wolf