Detox

No more water hosing or truncheons beaten on bare feet,
no nightsticks cracking skulls on Bowery streets.

No cold water straitjackets or rubber padded rooms,
no laudanum doses sweeping minds like a broom.

Now its pretentious centers deluxe
brazenly charging big bucks

for twenty-eight days of schmoozing
to turn off the boozing,

and swallowing mega-vitamin pills
to ward off the chills,

or sit in circles with stories to tell
from like-minded survivors of hell.

More humane we're trying to be
even offering treatment for free

but it is still a choice at any cost.
To choose a sober life or, to an early death be lost.

Copyright © | Year Posted 2009



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Date: 8/2/2012 2:56:00 PM
I can get into this one, Sue. I chose the "sober life." Congrats on the selection. daver
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Date: 8/1/2012 7:22:00 PM
Emotionally gripping! Great poem!~Tammy~
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Date: 8/1/2012 12:22:00 AM
SUE, stopping by to read a couple of poems. CONGRATULATIONS!! :-) with your featured poem of the week. Goodnight~ LUV~ PD
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Date: 11/9/2010 7:05:00 PM
Such a remarkable poem, Sue. We have missed you! Congrats on making it through the first round of the Soup contest with TWO entries! Love, Carolyn
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Date: 4/22/2009 5:05:00 PM
i know little about the bussiness but it sounds like you have it peged. they arn't cureing anybody that don't want to be cured. John H Loving III
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Date: 3/29/2009 2:08:00 PM
I am really inspired by this poem Sue, I wrote about the real detox places in one of my poems, and so i know what you mean about 'Now its pretentious centers deluxe'.. Thankyou so much for your comment on my poem, take care, jo xx
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Date: 3/20/2009 11:26:00 AM
love the raw confrontation of realizing the truth in this poem, great! Jim
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Date: 3/18/2009 9:52:00 AM
CHILLING!! WONDERFUL AND STRIKING ARRANGEMENT OF WORDS!! MUCH PEACE, ROBIN
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Date: 3/17/2009 12:30:00 PM
From the title till the end you submerge the reader in a world we all too often rather overlook. Even the beauty of the poetic verse can't disguise the horrors you discribe. GOOD WRITE!
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Date: 3/15/2009 4:56:00 PM
Sorry to say these problems have visited and still visit my family. With genetics what it is I try to keep a vigelant eye on myself and so far so good, thank God. Light & Love
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Date: 3/15/2009 2:02:00 PM
I would have to call my lawyer. This one sound really touchy. I have scene stuff like this on television. Hopefully, things are getting better. I like the great imagery and syntax. ~Joseph
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Date: 3/14/2009 3:46:00 PM
Wow! Much to think about here. The vivid imagery carries your thoughts in a powerful way. Unfortunately, this story is too often true. Keep up the good writing. Karen
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Date: 3/14/2009 12:40:00 PM
I like this. I wouldn't call it great poetry because a lot of the lines are too mundane. But I actually find this funny; in particular the second (far superior) stanza. I don't feel that the last stanza is necessary, it seems lazy as if the writer felt that they had to make a point and could only find something messaging to say. It does look as if it is tacked on as an afterthought. I really feel that the second stanza works great as a poem on its own.
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Date: 3/14/2009 6:58:00 AM
Powerful write Sue as the subject itself is disturbing and sad. The last line so tragic. Love, Shar
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Date: 3/14/2009 4:58:00 AM
Sue, This is an awesome poem describing the painful process of detox. An amazing work beautifully written to appeal to the heart and mind of the readers. A Quatrain from my book Rubai'yat of Josh Malihabadi: It torments me when wine stirs in the cup/ In every breath my soul burns up/ Wine from your cup O curiosity desn't quench my thirst/ The hunger for knowledge eats me for sup. -Mohammad
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Date: 3/13/2009 8:59:00 PM
Very strong writing Sue..stanza after stanza packs a wicked punch.. love the images...I love this piece a lot.
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Date: 3/13/2009 8:18:00 PM
Sue one of the things that saddens my heart is how easy one can become dependent of various things. I have a friend who hurt his back and was prescribed pain-killers and you got it he got hooked and didn't even realize he was hooked. luckily he had strong willpower and was able to kick it. Great write, Blessings, Ron
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Date: 3/13/2009 7:57:00 PM
Sue, this poem speaks of a process with which I am not familiar, and yet the inhumanity of detoxing jumps off the page. Very powerful, my friend. Good writing! Love, Carolyn
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Date: 3/13/2009 7:40:00 PM
This is so true and so well written. It is a sad thing that one must suffer more in order to rid themselves of the addictions that bond them. In the meantime many will lose their lives as one who is a victim of addiction can not afford the treatment they desperately need. This is a sad fact but it is wonderful that you speak out of such tragedy bringing hope that someday things will improve for these and the loved ones we could lose. Smiles from Lolita
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Date: 3/13/2009 7:27:00 PM
Powerful message. <3 it, keep it up! =] -Skylar
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