Alcoholism: I consider myself an expert

I’ve made my money with it

I’ve met all archetypes affected by it

I’ve seen its many faces

I was raised by it

I carry the ancestral thread of it

I’ve been married to it

Divorced from it

Dated it

Fucked it more than I can remember

Fucked over by friends with it

Fucked friends over with it

Lost friends

I’ve been it

Possessed by it

Blinded by it

Roped in

Seduced

Seen first hand people who have been hurt with it

And most important, I’ve climbed it

I’ve outstretched my branches and have grown from it

My roots still deeply planted in it

The depths of it try to overtake me, but like a faithful warrior, I fight with no retreat

Sobriety is the land in which my house resides now

Just inches away from the shadowy underworld and wells of alcoholic pit traps

I pay rent, every day. For sobriety is on lease.

As the hill of alcoholic temptation grows, I remain at its summit

Able to see those still trapped in its quicksand-like terrain

I can see them wrapped in their blankets, unsure of how they’ve trapped themselves, but too comfortable to move

I see their spirits, waiting to come back

I can see it, because I have been there

I feel the pain, and the release, and the joy, and the doubt, and the inspiration, and the freedom, and the anxiety, and the hope.

I feel and embrace it all.

And every single day, I choose ME.