They gather beneath flickering neon,
in narrow alleys where the pavement remembers rain,
where glasses clink like distant thunder
and the air smells of sweat, stale tobacco, and old promises.
A woman’s laughter, cracked and sharp,
spills into the room like broken shards;
a man leans on the bar—his elbow’d sorrow
ordering another round, trading hours for oblivion.
The jukebox—wounded, nostalgic—
grinds out a song of ghosts and faded dreams.
Bartender’s hands shake between bottles
as shadows press against the windows, watchers wanting in.
Walls scribbled with names never spoken—
with hearts shattered, hopes pawned.
Outside, the city coughs, writhes in sleepless neon;
inside, time stands still, drunk and defiant.
We are all believers here—
in the altar of amber liquor,
the hymn of poured whiskey,
in the communion of husbands and strangers.
Midnight cracks open like a broken mirror—
edges sharp, reflection distorted.
Beer calls; gin beckons;
the bouncer counts bodies, not sins.
And when the music fades,
when the lights cut low—
they linger, some to forget, others to feel everything
in the hollow between heartbeats.
I once took a peer pressured pill that sent me in to a hypersensitive thrill. A smiley faced white pill , I was forced to endure to not be labelled a buzz kill. After the effects started to kick in my body began to sway, hallucinations of demons closed in on me which I could not fight away. I was a souls trapped in a human body trying to jump ship, my skin burned to the surface whilst my stomach did a back flip. My peers laughed at me whilst I lost my mind, some tried to take advantage of me on the dance floor with a grind. I felt helpless like I had no control, and I had shed my skin I left my body on the floor she was oh so thin. One tiny pill took my life I followed the reaper to the golden gates whilst he gripped his scythe. Don’t do drugs they take your humanity, addiction paid its price and cost me my sanity
My legs feel poor in an unkind way
I don’t want to talk about anything
I don’t want to talk about anyone
Hoarseness will ingest lungs
Loss will be learnt from rot
I [will] have no eyes
I [will] have no tongue
I [will] have no heart
yummy banana, tasty banana.
eat 10,000 at once, die.
yummy banan, testy banarn.
heving srokke.
heel pme.
10,000 bannn kil u frm pot as yum.
skadoosh!
They told me it was medicine.
A cure in a capsule.
A little light in liquid form,
a powder path to paradise.
It whispered like honey,
slid smooth down my veins,
said, “I’ll heal your hurt, hush your hunger,
pull the storm from your skull.”
And it did.
Oh, it did.
The world slowed
colors stretched into forever, and my chest unclenched like a fist finally letting go.
But the bottle had teeth.
The pill had claws.
The powder carried a price tag I couldn’t read at first.
Every high built a higher wall.
Every flight carved a deeper fall.
The nectar that kissed me sweetly at midnight
bit me raw by dawn.
It is love that leaves bruises.
A friend who steals your shoes while you sleep.
A healer who poisons the wound so you’ll crawl back begging for the cure.
They don’t tell you the double-edged truth:
that the elixir doesn’t choose.
It cuts both ways
one side silk, one side steel.
And you,
you are the bleeding in between.
So I stand with the glass in my hand,
heart trembling on the rim.
Asking myself
is it medicine?
Or is it blade?
And the silence answers,
“Both.”
Heart shaped glasses
Bottled sadness
The perfume of melancholia
Sold as aphrodisiac
Somewhere between
Smoke and rum
Between the sheets
All is fair
In love and
Other indoor sports
for a moment
I close my eyes
and wish you well
like a balloon
I let in the sky
that will never come down again
a bitter brain such as mine
contains no remorse
so I am sorry I have nothing
to give to you
and a running nose
I cant stop from running tho
and for a moment
I am back to black
and black and white
monotone
and envious
a bitter lung
no air
so I am empty
with not much to breathe for
besides the winter that
haunts the house
across the street from
where I grew up
my livers life
is shorter than my own
deadly
but I love
the admiration you give me when I smoke
hello
hello
can you hear me from the trees
from the trees
you call me
but I will never suffice
for a perfect lover
and I blame my bitter brain
unknown to him
I watched from the shadows of
rocks far below
he, dancing like a scarecrow atop the
cliff edge, limbs at unnatural
angles, broad grin of
chiseled teeth gleaming in the wan light of
the moon, looking up to spit
blood at its face
making sadistic biting gestures
almost as if he could taste
the pale blue beams ... or nip
them off, thus …
maybe he could, this
Demon of Lies, for the darkest magic
was his faith and forte
most any miracle, his, tho' cursed
(as payment for his powers)
to never take his
own form, wearing instead
the sinews of those who
sold their souls for desire and deceit …
yes, I watched intently as he
spun his grotesque jig
cackling with impiety, for a NEW flesh
hung loose upon his skeleton
and its face ...
was my own.
Copyright © 2019 Gregory Richard Barden
( photographic art created copyright-free by the poet with GALA AI software )
She is your reason
To do right and be strong
To not embarrass nor shame her
So she feels secure where she belongs
Her childhood is your reason
One not to be marred
Letting your guard down
Memories become scarred
Your beautiful family is your reason
To stay focused and in control
Your highest priority
Keeping your family happy and whole
I know its not easy
You are trying so hard
Doing unbelievably well
At not dropping your guard
We who love you
Will always support and guide
You mean everything to us
We stand proudly by your side
The truth is, it is an ongoing battle
Every day, every week, every season
Just always, always remember
She …..is your reason!
The breath I took gave me relief
Because you were there in the air.
As soon as I took your grip,
Wanting to cherish every bit of you,
I started with your lip.
When my lips touched yours,
There was nothing else I could ask for.
I wanted to feel all of you.
I wanted to absorb all of you into me.
I wanted all our particles to intertwine.
It was an epiphany; I was yours, and you were all mine.
There was nothing I could see but you.
There was nothing I could feel but relief.
With you still loving my lips, the slower I inhaled,
The more your insecurities you unveiled.
The burn I felt in my chest—
It didn't feel like an injury.
From all insignificant matters,
It gave me rest.
I wanted it to last forever.
I wanted it to never end.
I wanted to keep holding you.
But with the blink of an eye, you were gone with the wind,
Mixed with that thick white hue.
From feeling your lips with utmost adoration
To not being able to stand you,
We have grown apart.
From intertwining our fingers
To denying each other's existence,
We have fallen apart.
Exhaling all the bittersweet affection,
I don't want you anymore—there is no doubt.
(I dedicate this to my battle of quitting nicotine)
Before I was anxiety with rage
Consumed by consumables
I finally forced consumables to retreat
I didn’t do it alone I had my angels
I can finally see the world with clarity
It isn’t so bad when your mind can breath
The irony with chemicals is toll one pays
First skipping a toll only later feel death
Cigarette Smokers
In a world tainted by pollution and smog you're adding to the problem
Please don't think for a second that electric cigarettes will solve them
Cigarettes wouldn't be half bad if they just took the smoker out
It isn't fair that it kills those who wouldn't put one to their mouth
Parents smoke but would brake out in a rage if their children tried
What if each pack kept up with the growing number who died
Each smoker fails to realize what they smell and look like
The x-rays of their lungs to the doctors must be a horrible sight
They should ask themselves if this nasty habit is worth dying over
Are they recognizing with each puff their calling death much closer
What ingredients makes up the tobacco anyway
I heard rat poison makes up some of it so is that ok
Who's worse, neighborhood drug dealers or the tobacco company
They both make money from the lives they take if you're asking me
Tots waddle to the throttle of life...®a©e®s...start your engines!
Human nature takes wobbly steps forward >, <<
Each clumsy effort supported to maintain balance$
Space and times collide *×*
Perpetual motion prevails...®a©e®s...engines revved!
Adulthood rapidly approaches!...Lord help us survive till they move out!
Chance encounters...on and off the computer °}©{°
Experimenting with forbidden fruits @ hormones.com/flashdance
Concerned parents patrol computer...once they figure out the password ?+?=?
Alcohol and weed are soon dating...huh?...what did you say?...uuh...huh?
Driving home with the ***** in their eyes!
Except...they're still in park!!!
Too much ghanja dulled their drive ° ° °
Spaced out at space station number: 5
As i listen to the thoughts, I see that they're not my own; They're not my kind of company, the lowest type of tone. I'd rather not speak back to them, or follow where they roam; I'll watch them from a'far instead; Behind the safety zone.
Been clean for a while now
A lifetime it seems
But at least once a week
I have vicodin dreams
I wake with this bite
This high from the night
As if I had popped
A pill and then dropped
Into narcotic sleep
Then I come to
From this broken view
And I lie in my bed,and weep
Specific Types of Addiction Poems
Definition | What is Addiction in Poetry?
Poems Related to Addiction
shot, bent, bag, fixation, obsession, dependence, monkey, thing, enslavement, hang up, hook, craving, kick, inclination, jones, sweet tooth, monkey on back,