The staggered steps
Of the dying drunkard
Have burnt pathways
In hard ground
Leading from
A sober moment
To another glass
Without a sound.
He dwells within
A different world
Each day is taken
In exchange
For a shaking hand
That buys a bottle
To eliminate
Past pain.
His steps are short
A shuffling kind
As he sways
But does not fall
Hes forgotten what
He once was
As that liquid
It does call.
-
Author:
nephilim56 ( Norman Dickson) (
Offline) - Published: September 8th, 2026 02:41
- Category: Unclassified
- Views: 140
- Users favorite of this poem: Tristan Robert Lange, Paul Bell, ms.divine, GenXer Sharon 🙏🍀
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Comments11
'' Alcohol may be man's worst enemy but the bible says love your enemy '' ( Franck Sinatra)
Love it
Is it the liquid or the numbing that calls. A wonderful description in this write of alcohol's effects upon those that are called to it. Nicely written Norman.
thanks and appreciation my friend
You are very welcome
It's the forgetting and being forgotten that gets to you the most. Moving poem. 👍🏻🕊️
thanking you and much appreciated read my friend
There’s a damn bleak circularity here, with the drunkard’s staggered footsteps literally burning a pathway from one sober moment to the next bottle, turning addiction into a physical trail he can’t seem to escape. The strongest part is “a shaking hand / that buys a bottle / to eliminate / past pain,” because it strips away the romance of drinking and leaves us with the brutal truth of a man trying to medicate his history while slowly forgetting who he was.
Spot on my friend, thanks for read always much appreciated
It's a serious subject but..... waiting so long at that bus stop has turned us to drink! lol.
Indeed it has, I am a bit tipsy now lol
Powerful poem, Norman! This is a brutal portrait of addiction...not romanticized or condemned, just shown in all its slow destruction. Really well done, my friend. 🌹🖤🙏🕯️🐦⬛
as always many thanks and appreciation for read my friend
This sure has turned out to be a drinking rememberence day, and I bet we all knew someone who swayed that path.
Drink I suppose is a part of growing up, but I know many who didn't make it to the growing up part.
Kids today don't drink as much, and that's great, maybe being stuck on a computer is safer.
Yes indeed, though drugs seem to be the new alcohol, thanks and appreciation for read
Fine words Norman, I know an ex alcoholic very well and has now been alcohol free for eleven years.
Andy
thats great my friend, thanks for read much appreciated
Well Done Norman. I've been sober 6yrs and I'm grateful I found a way out of that hell.
Well done my friend, thanks for read much appreciated
You have captured the essence of the typical drunkard. Wow 🤩
most kind, thanking you much appreciated
There’s much truth here in this write. Thank you for sharing this.
thanks for read much appreciated
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