The Ritual    

Over two dozen years I wallowed in the mire of drunkenness   

Any excuse was good enough to tie - one on  

It progressed to where each time before I took that first drink

I would go through this ritual in my mind:

“Remember stop when you get a buzz

You don’t want to wake up tomorrow

Not knowing what you did or how you got home

If you broke anything or offended anyone

So stop when you feel that buzz coming on, right?

“Right / Sure / No problem / I got it all under control”

But I’d wake up the next day in déjà vu

My body heavy as an anvil  

My head painfully throbbing

Like Jello wobbling inside

And each and every time bewildered in

Anxiety and defeat

I’d ask myself in my mind:

How in the hell did it happen again?

What did I do?

Where did I go?

Where was I at?

Years in this vicious cycle

Intoxicated in madness

Nearly took me out

Then one day fourteen years ago

A light guided me out of the darkness

Led me to the Red Road

Then a song came to me

Swallowed up the desire