This poem is dedicated to Dale, a courageous man with an inspiring blog, who led me to the realisation described in the sonnet.
For years anger and self-pity mirrored my eyes
The drug addiction of others was my vile enemy
Trapped within mother love from which I could not flee
I was terrorised by the manipulation and the lies
Within my house: yet when I became ready to revise
And realise that addicts were victims just like me,
And we were in similar straits, still I couldn’t see
The bigger picture, and recognise all our allies
Whose rebellious chemistry confounds the brain
And their struggling families weep over a similar plight
for their beloved casualties of sex, gambling and pain.
The disease of addiction is the foe that we must fight
If we stand together and tell our truths without shame
We’ll make a loving army, leading others to the light.
© Jane Paterson Basil
Making it write 
And don’t forget the wonderful support to each other. You have a very clear mission here. That poem states it pretty well.
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I shouldn’t have tried to write a sonnet last night. I was too hyped up from my lovely day with the family to do it justice.
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Thank you, Jane. I am thankful for the dedication. Much more, I am grateful for the poem. Great Job. After I read it, I was teary eye and experienced heart-felt emotions. Thanks,
Dale
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You are welcome Dale. I doubt that you ever receive the accolade you deserve.
Jane
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Beautifully crafted and truly heart-felt.
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Thank you. I’m a bit concerned that all of the good things which have happened in my life recently are blunting my edge.
Yes, this poem is heartfelt. I used to discriminate between addictions, placing each on a seperate level. But addiction is the desese, and sex, drugs or gambling and even gymnastics or whatever are merely symptoms.
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Thank you. Yes, truly heartfelt. I used to discriminate, putting addictions into individual categories, but addiction is the disease and sex, drugs, gambling and even gymnastics or whatever are merely symptoms. I have known this for a long time, and yet only recently learned to be non-judgemental.
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Yes, I like this. And the picture is so interesting. It fits perfectly.
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Thank you!
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