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Dark Poetry #3
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Suetang
Member Ascendant
since 2001-03-07
Posts 5187
Melbourne, Australia

0 posted 2001-03-26 10:30 PM


In a hovel I sit
In a room on my own
This is the only place I know
That I can call home

There are cracks in the windows
And holes in the floor
There's not even a lock
On the broken front door

There's a mattress where I sleep
But not a blanket is in sight
As I know how much I'll shiver
With the coming of the night

No arms are there to hold me
Just the rats scratching in the walls
Sometimes I think I hear voices
Are they coming down the halls?

So frightened am I
As I shiver and shake
Then I reach for my "comfort"
A shot of heroin I will take

No one is there to stop me
No one really cares
And when I finally venture out
All I'm confronted with is stares

My clothes are what I live in
This is all that I have got
The money that I sometimes get
Is used for my next shot

At night I roam the busy streets
As in the day it hurts to face the sun
My mind begins to wander
Will I ever reach twenty one?

My skirt is so short
On high heels I do stand
On the street corner and freeze
As I try hard to warm my hands
My denim jacket hides the scars
And all the needlemarks in my arms
And as the men drive by and look at me
I try to lure them with my charms

So many friends I've known
Have died along the way
I'm so lost and oh, so desperate
I've forgotten how to pray

How lonely I become
As I leave the city lights
And go back to my home"
To spend the rest of the night

As I close my eyes and drift
In and out of sleep
My body starts to sweat
And from the bed I leap

The voices they've come back
All around me they do roam
As I scream for Mum and Dad
To please come and take me home

But I hear no reply
In the still of the night
As I stare out the window
At the early morning light

I left my family for this?
All their love I now crave
Oh, please don't let me take myself
Into an early grave

I need somebody's help
Bring my life back to me
Break these chains from my legs
Won't someone set me free?

Too quickly I grew up
So invincible was I
Oh, how I wish I was a child again
As I begin to break down and cry

The door creaks slowly open
As I huddle on my bed
Footsteps down the hall
To the bedroom is where they're lead

A friendly face looks down at me
So much warmth it does give
And for once I finally realise
I won't give up the will to live

As a hand reaches out
Bringing comfort to me
My eyes are finally open
And I begin to see

This is not where I belong
It's not where I should be
As I realise that my Dad is here
To take me back to my family

Still a long way do I have to go
But with so much love on my side
It will give me so much strength
And I just know that I'll survive


WRITTEN FOR THOSE WHO HAVE LOST THEIR WAY AND NEED OUR HELP

Suetang

© Copyright 2001 Sue Tancheff - All Rights Reserved
Songbird
Member Elite
since 1999-12-15
Posts 2184
Missouri
1 posted 2001-03-27 12:04 PM


A sad story because it is so true of so many people. Wish all of their lives could have happy endings as you pictured here.
JamesMichael
Member Empyrean
since 1999-11-16
Posts 33336
Kapolei, Hawaii, USA
2 posted 2001-03-27 10:10 AM


Very well written...the sad part is days turn into months, and months into years, you never know where the ride will take you or when the ride will end...James
Suetang
Member Ascendant
since 2001-03-07
Posts 5187
Melbourne, Australia
3 posted 2001-03-27 04:23 PM


Thank you for you comments.  I must say that fortunately I have never been in this situation, it is just my vision as to how it must be for many out there on the streets. I wrote this from things I'd seen and read about people affected by drugs and I am by no means in a position to judge anyone.  I just hope that my poem made people realise how lucky most of us are, those of us who maybe have the typical burdens such as a mortgage to pay, school fees, everyday life stresses etc.  I guess I just hope this poem made people take another look and realise that their life really isn't all that bad, that there is someone worse off than themselves and there are people out there who really need our help.......Sue.

Suetang

Suzanne Arlene
Member
since 2000-10-09
Posts 377
Ontario, Canada
4 posted 2001-03-27 07:09 PM


Oh that was a wonderful poem. So full of promise and hope. And as you say i do hope it helps someone to read it . thank you again  Suzanne
taramw
Senior Member
since 2000-06-08
Posts 738

5 posted 2001-03-28 08:06 AM


Hi Sue,

I think you wrote this poem exceptionally well    

Hmmm... yes, that is true about invincibility... one can believe they are invincible, nothing can harm them... and even if it tried (or did), it wouldn't be for long... and hey, one can always snap out of it... run away, get out, right?!! Nope    You portrayed this well.

Take care.

~ Tara ~

may you live all the days of your life. -- jonathan swift

Katherine Chandler
Member
since 2001-03-07
Posts 280
Florida, USA
6 posted 2001-03-28 11:43 AM


Sue I throughly enjoyed the positive message in this write. And yes, I wish there were no street people, no drugs, no depression. But life for some is not that easy. I feel a certain amount of gratitude knowing I can get better so this never happens to me, that's all I can do is start with myself. You write from your heart and it shows.

Kate


Blessings..

Genuine poetry can communicate before it is understood.
T S Eliot

Lady Bere
Member
since 2000-02-03
Posts 73
Valmeyer, Illinois USA
7 posted 2001-03-28 10:59 PM


I am impressed.  The story grabs you and you've got to know how it ends.  I actually expected it to end in death.  The arrival of the father was a pleasant surprise and took the hopelessness of the poem and turned it around.

Without darkness there is no light
Without the light we cannot see the dark
Balance...It heals the soul -- by: LB


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