Kindness can cost little but carry a great weight.

Cherry

By Mentalelf

Wed, 10 Jan 2024
  • 526 reads
8 comments
 

For all those addicts who we see freezing on the street searching for that tenner bag.... Addicts don't choose to be addicts, they may take heroin because of friend's pressure, or to escape a mentally damaged reality, (Did you know heroin is one of the best anti psychotics?), many are veterans, most believe one or two hits won't hurt. They believe with moderation they can control it. The moderation increases exponentially. They are victims of ignorance or a misguided self belief. 
So maybe this year and especially now in such cold, when your shopping and see that hunched figure, thin and pale, and only if you yourself can afford it ask them what they'd like from the shop... a sandwich, a can of coke or better yet a hot coffee. I wouldn't be inclined to hand over cash as that will go into "today's fix fund", but we can help. And.... we should help. Victims always should be helped.
Unnamed.
The lossless homeless
Living tomorrow every day.
Sometimes magic beset their minds
As reality unfolds and enfolds.
Fifty pence in a battered cap
As they stroke their lives companion
A mongrel dog of dubious parentage
Whose eyes carry depths of love.
Sometimes the fifty pence is a twentieth
Of that much hallowed bag of brown.
Keep your needles clean.
Find a safe spot to gouch. 
That drug induced slouch.
An imitation of random death.
Veins collapsed and buried deep.
If not the arm go for the groin.
Everyday sat with a battered cap
Watching passing hatred
And flying daggers of judgement.
Your past caring.
They could piss on you
For that one small bag.
You’d blow them in darkened doorway
Then blow yourself in another one.
Your best human friend
Would rob you of everything
To fall frail, mindless godless
Into that hateful harrying hole.
Your dog won’t do that!
He’ll just sit and see your hat.
Your ribs protrude for lack of food
Money gouched out in place of pasta.
You’ll lie to everyone, everyone.
Its to feed my dog.
Its to feed myself.
True but not food.
So still you sit as today turns
Into tomorrow  and tomorrow 
Turns into today.
Who’ll pay?

Certificate 15
Poem
Darker Poem

Comments

Submitted by D G Moody on

What a powerful poem - a worthy cherry Phil; and yes, we should never walk by 'on the other side' without some token of compassion. What often strikes me is the dog companion. that gives unconditional love - shame we often can't.

Dougie Moody

Submitted by Mentalelf on

Hi Dougie, thanks for taking the time to read mate. Unfortunately the poem read a bit better as I posted it, it wqs in four line stanzas but for some reason the gaps were removed, it's probably me not knowing enough about the computerism magic. But as I say when I posted it it changed the format :-( It's done it before too. All the best to you. Phil. 

Kia Kaha (Maori .... "stay strong")

Submitted by D G Moody on

No worries Phil, and I have similar issues; no matter what I do my poems are always posted with big line breaks - at least they get on the site! 

Dougie Moody

Submitted by Di_Hard on

Thankyou for this poem

 

Submitted by Mentalelf on

Hi, Di.... Thank you so much for taking the time to ead my effort and taking the time to comment... greatly appreciated. Although for some reason thats alien to me it was posted in four line stanzas but it was reformatted by some algohythm or my ignorance to become one long read. It's actually done it before... i'm sure it's ignorance on my part that removes the structure. Kind regards and all the best for the new year.

Kia Kaha (Maori .... "stay strong")

Submitted by Di_Hard on

I have trouble with formats sometimes, too, so cannot offer any advice there, I am sorry!

 

Submitted by Mark Say on

... and well written. All those short, sharp images convey a pretty horrific but highly believable picture.

 

Submitted by Mentalelf on

Thanks for taking the time to read this, much appreciated, and all the best for this coming year. I worked for a long time in Mental Health and I took on most of the addicts, my colleagues found them hard, and scary, and they are, usually a heroin addict will have a co morbidity, So it's difficult to treat Mental Health issues alongside an addiction, the question is usually what came first? But you always have to treat the addiction and see whats left. I had little success. When I'd make a home visit i'd always have to have a good look at the chairs for needdles before sitting.

These people are victims. I have no doubt about that. It was often a sad job... go in to work to be told a client was found dead, overdosed. Most wanted to get clean, but they couldn't do it, they would make an effort but usually the dealer would wrangle them into "another fix". Sometimes theyed give a wee freebee if someone was trying.... 

They were never trustable, constantly lying about thieir efforts, and the real facilities are in short supply. Plus to succeed they had to totally change thier lives, move away from "friends"... start a new life, go into rehab for six months. But before that they had to demonstrate a willingness for a few months to qualify for a rare place. Mostly impossible. Prison is often good... it's hard to maintain an addiction in the nick. But evryone I knew would come out clean and be using again within days, "friends" had popped round. 

 

Kia Kaha (Maori .... "stay strong")