Stronger

You start off small,

A little weed, a little smoke-

Innocent enough.

No parents to chastise you,

To put the brakes on your less than legal hobbies.

A cup of bad friends,

A sprinkle of depression-

A recipe for the man of my future.

Give me the pills.

Just one pill.

Two pills.

Four.

Eight.

Twelve.

I’ve lost count.

Friends on high horses,

How could they know,

My mom falling on her own sword,

My sister desperate to join her.

A father made of alcohol and regret,

Beating his only living relative into a drug-filled palace.

I lose hours, I lose days,

I sleep on Tuesday and wake on Friday.

I live in a world built on speed,

Xanax its tyrannical leader,

My mind and body,

Their willing subject.

Demons adapt,

Euphoria fades.

I am thrown overboard,

I am ruled.

I beg of you,

Give me something,

A little

Bit

Stronger.