The day was seductive.
Maybe I felt too good.
You’re always second-guessing your mood
When you have bipolar disorder
I don’t think I’m manic
A day like today can make a guy think money doesn’t matter
That a life devoted to liberal arts is a good idea
Make you shrug off for a moment the debt you undertook
And you’re still paying on your education 27 years later,
That 17 years of your life in school, impoverished,
Did something good to your soul, and it is a good idea
To do something good to your soul
That jamming on keys with a blues guitar player all morning
And a walk in the park with a sober friend, talking
On a sunny, 75-degree day
Would make you feel so good you question whether you’re manic,
Forget that you’re years past due for a teeth cleaning
That you can’t get the root canal and a few crowns
And though your home is Canada, you used the remaining balance
On your American credit card to pay for your oil change
That just yesterday I went out for a cup of tea instead of breakfast
SEDUCTION
14 Sep 2021 Leave a comment
in Blog Tags: bipolar, debt, education, liberal arts, manic, money, music, poem, poverty, sober
Why I’m Glad I’m Sober
22 Apr 2017 1 Comment
in Blog Tags: anger, drugs, drunk, philosophy, poetry, relationships, sober
I’ve seen both sides. I lived a long time drunk or high every day. And when I wasn’t high I was thinking about getting high. Here’s the things I did when I was a drunk:
- get mad so I needed a drink
- get drunk
Now I live a clean and sober life. Here’s the things I do, now that I am sober:
- write music
- record original music and play with other musicians
- form healthy relationships
- play card games with friends
- volunteer in interfaith functions
- sit on a faculty committee
- teach classes at church
- organize lecture series
- feel my emotions
- read philosophy, poetry, and fiction
- go out on dates without drinking
- listen to live music and hear it and enjoy it
- write poetry
- buy art with the money I don’t spend on drugs
- enjoy life
- laugh and cry
There are still struggles in life and hard days. But, as a musician friend of mine said about the process of recording my original music, “enjoy the process.”