The Broken Switch Poem by Emeka GOC

The Broken Switch


I am just a casual drinker, I tell myself each night,
I love the crowded tables, the laughter, and the light.
I love the warm environment, the way it helps us blend,
The pouring of the glasses, the making of a friend.
I love to be part of the merry of Champaign and the palm wine


But truth hides in the shadow of how the liquid flows,
beer or Cider all i do consider
It isn't in the volume, it's the way the habit grows.
A normal drinker stops at two; they hold a reason why,
The glass stays on the counter beneath a sober sky.


But I have found a reason for every single drop,
A justification spinning that tells me not to stop.
A bad day at the office? Stressed out and wound up tight?
A fight with my own partner? I'll drink away the night.
And if the news is joyful, a triumph to celebrate,


The bottle is wide open, the hour is getting late.
The normal drinkers never ask if they have gone too far,
They do not wrestle with their souls beside a lonely bar.
They never pace the kitchen floor and wonder if they're blind,
While questions of addiction are tearing through the mind


Is this thing healthy for me? Am I taking this too deep?
Am I an alcoholic or dependent drinker?
Should I put the glass to sleep? For them,
a switch is flicked inside; they know when they are done.
But I was born without that switch; my count is never one.


The liquor makes the choice for me, it dictates when to quit,
If there's a drink in front of me, I will be drinking it.
Beneath the social laughter lies a dark and heavy toll,
A trail of short-term hazards that can swallow up the soul:
The accidents and violence, the poison in the veins,


The risk of sudden illness, the blackout and the pains.
Then years go marching softly, and the long-term shadows grow,
In strokes and faling livers, and the cancers building slow,
In hearts that lose their rhythm, in a pancreas on fire,
In brains that lose their memory to fuel the dark desire.


If you are trapped in questioning, or drowning in the doubt,
You do not have to walk alone to find the pathway out.
A doctor's door is open, and the support groups understand,
You only have to reach across, and someone takes your hand.
if you are in UK, US and Australia, cgl, VIA, WDP and nhs- professionals.
No one is alcoholic, just an excess of addictive desire