Portrait of An Addict

From tottering infantile footsteps Gangly adolescence and vibrant youth Desire to taste forbidden fruits Hobnob with society discards Ever beckoned by distant drums Weird people practising witchcraft Entranced by strange rituals Rebelling against established norms Corrupted by wild flights of fantasy Urge to attain impossible dreams Sermonizing on unknown subjects Engaged in creating hell on earth Shunning filial ties Ignorant of the anguish of loved ones Reviled by all but the ignorant And pitied by a few Unwashed, malodorous, skeletal frame Vacant eyes a fiery red Registering no events, recognizing none A pitiable mannequin in a dynamic world Ever shrouded in a haze of acrid smoke From endless cannabis trips Unhinged from his roots With no conclusion or hope