Under The Influence Of Alcohol Poem by Paula Glynn

Under the influence of alcohol in town
She does drink and goes down, down, down
Alcohol turning her into a deranged drunk clown
Drink after drink making her numb and understood
Believing alcohol does her the world of good.

But she is lonely: no one caring
Her world one where no one asks after her
Where no one shows concern or care
As if they're assuming her happy and they are unaware
That she ignores the warning sign on the bottle saying ‘Beware'

Tomorrow doesn't matter: all that matters is the glass of wine tonight
All that matters is she doesn't wake up in a nightmare fright
During the cold and empty night
Winter bitterly cold outside her window
The snow echoing her isolated heart.

No one batting an eyelid in the supermarket
No one staring at the three glasses of wine in one hour
Because to her those people have no power
She is the one choosing: but being drunk means losing
However this is not seen as the state of affairs.

Dressing well and talking good English
She does seem perfect: but her downfall is drink
She has no rain jacket or brown paperbag
She seems just like you or me: normal you do perceive
But getting drunk is a choice in which she believes.

Alcohol wonderful to celebrate with:
But when does the party end?
When does the alcoholic try to pretend?
Pretend to be sober: just enjoying the festivities
Failing at hiding the excess of alcoholic drink.

But there is no thought of stopping:
No pausing to stop and deeply think
There is guilt and shame and denial
But the truth is she's perpetually under the influence of alcohol
And until she wakes up it'll always be this way.