DRUGS Poem: The Battle Within, by Jennifer Hovick

Taking from the bottle was simple
It was always there for me, ready for me
It was there for me when I was happy, sad, angry, helpless, crying
Like a therapist

I would walk down to the store to get it
But not because I had a choice
Everyone has a choice, but I didn’t
I didn’t because my brain had felt like it was being used by someone else
Where’s the controller?

I was being controlled by hands that were not my own
A brain not my own
A person not my own

It was so simple getting a bottle too
Nothing was in my way
Myself was the only obstacle in this battle

Twisting and turning my legs would attempt to walk
It would go the other way home

I always end up not being me
I was the obstacle
It was me