he traded us

he loves drinking
and the drink seems to
love him;
no care
it seems
neither has for the
world.

he traded his wife’s love
for the one of a bottle,
gambled away his kids’ love
to the off licence corner shops;
more loyal to the alcohol
than to his work schedule
alas it seems
no one can love him
the way the drink loves
him
and he can love no one
the way he loves to
drink.

it appears
the warmth from the drinking
is more precious
than the love that
belongs in a family home;
it seems
you’ve lost yourself
in the seductive clutches
of alcohol
when you start
to blame us
instead of the bottle
you claim protects
you from the darkness
and the demons that
run astray
in our house.

but whose to
protect us
when the storm
in you rages
as the alcohol
taunts the beasts
within you?
whose to
love us the way
you love the drinking
and the drinking loves
you?

tell me
i beg you
tell me,
how easy was it
to trade us
for the drunken vision
your addiction
to drinking gives
you?

with every
sip you took,
you poisoned us all.

now we’re dead
and living in the
graveyard of
unreachable times,
and you
i suppose
are doing
just
fine.