By José

I learned about sobriety through the abuse
Of my friend in junior high
Name: Rusty
Drug of choice: Weed
Clouds of smoke distorted his vision
Unable to see that he was a genius
The first kid that showed me his poetry that inspired me to write
The red veins in his eyes
Traced the timeline
Of the purple haze he lived in
‘Til he was expelled
Caught on campus with a nickelbag of herb

Now I’m college bound
I stayed sober
Through the day he dropped out of high school
And I don’t know where he is now
But I hope he knows
That he changed my life
He could’ve changed the world
If only he could’ve stayed
Sober.
© Jose Vadi (2005)