Don'T Get Caught Poem by Alessandra Liverani

I'll tell you a secret that very few know
One of life's great mysteries, it may save you some woe
You're young and strong, healthy and able
You cannot imagine being old and unstable

Your mind cannot grasp the power of addiction
It won't catch you at all, it's just someone's fiction
How could it catch you when you don't like the taste
Ah, yet it can very quickly, but not in haste

The secret my friend and remember it well
Are the steps that you go through when you end up in hell
There are only two steps, not four or five
Just two tiny steps and then you arrive

Step One - you don't like it, it's nearly a chore
You could stop tomorrow, it's just such a bore
Step Two - you must have it, see how things change
How did that happen, it's really quite strange

From Step One to Step Two with nothing between them
Not a stop, not a pause it's really quite awesome
Then you will learn a feeling quite new
We call it withdrawal which gives you your cue

Each time you feel it you must light another
And another and another and another and another
Millions have thought they would not take Step Two
Can you see them clearly? Just look around you

(Sydney, Australia - 2003)