The Lost Crossroads of The Poppies

For Janice and Al in memory of their daughter who lost her battle with addiction today.

You only choose the needle once
and then she chooses you.
A siren, with promises
of synaptic explosions
in lotus blossom ecstasy.

The remedy transforms into the curse,
and the song she sings entices,
a melodious and mesmerizing tune,
alien but you hum it like a long-lost lullaby.

Eventually her voice fades in and out
and her notes become more discordant.
She has donned the role of the other woman
and your need only grows the further she strays,
possessing her completely your life's desire.

Worn out now, standing on a street corner,
her purity had always been her greatest illusion,
her beauty faded beneath harsh light matters not,
and the more detached she becomes
the more you long to be detached from it all.

She harnesses your strength and will
bequeathed to the Queen of Opiates.
Sitting on the throne at the end of a long road to hell
she ravages you with the ghost of a toxic kiss that sealed your contract
long ago upon the lost crossroads of the poppies.

Reviews

[Einstein Noodle]

oh no Icey .. so sad for Janice and Al and their beloved daughter ... heroin is a wretched heart made in the grave ... so very sorry for you and your friends now feeling this loss .. such irony that the time in our lives we need restraint, we are most bold and adventurous .. and when older we could use the "juice" we are content with our survival ... if only our children would read and believe... all the warnings are real .. not made up to deny ... not contrived out of some grotesque parental selfishness .. i feel my own heart weighted and I dont even know them .. hugs and kisses ..tearful eyes ..
E.

[icelandicblue]

Thanks Einstein. It happens everyday. I just happened to know this family. It's a sad state of affairs and Janice and Al didn't get their happily ever after. Thanks again my friend.

[Deuces]

I loved this. Your pieces are extremely vivid and always tell passionate stories that all can relate to. A sad story indeed, addiction can appear in many shapes and forms. That needle can be metaphoric for any vice in this world and that's what I enjoyed about this poem. Simply loved, "You only choose the needle once
and then she chooses you."

[icelandicblue]

Thanks so much G. Addiction causes everyone to suffer, not just the addict. I appreciate your thoughts.

[Deuces]

So true. Any time.

[Rosalind Gale]

This worked out swimmingly for me as I have just finished reading Sea of Poppies by Ghosh. I loved the flow of this work, not so overt, yet clear enough to feel the rushes, the circles of smoke. I know these feelings so well through the past. Thank you for this journey - a lucid and outstanding poem.
Rosie
-x-

[icelandicblue]

Thank you so much for such kind words and for sharing your thoughts.

[kublakhan27]

You had me at the intro...I could already feel my eyes growing damp before reading a single line. As sad as it is for me to say, and I wish I didn't have to say it, it takes one who has lived this scenario to be able to truly articulate the tortures of addiction and the toll it takes on families, parents in particular. The first two lines are almost a poem in itself...you only choose the needle once / and then she chooses you. That wretched siren. As you know, you're not the only friend of mine who is fighting with fight right now...this is my worst nightmare, and it just kills me to know that it has already struck people who are close to you. But you've done a great deed in articulating these feelings as you have...on a strictly poetic level, this is a masterpiece....a lament, a tribute, and an elegy all at once. You have earned my tears with this one my friend...just an astounding piece of poetry.

[icelandicblue]

Thank you so much. I always love reading your reviews. Drug addiction is a never-ending war even when you feel like you might be winning. She had been clean for 1 1/2 years...it is devastating. Thanks again.

[Rita L. Sev]

You only choose the needle once
and then she chooses you...

From the first line, your poem is gripping and heartbreaking. Addiction - that lifetime companion born of a single moment. My prayers are with your friends, Blue.

[icelandicblue]

Thanks Rita...it's been a tough week. Friends lost their daughter this and even as you feel their loss you also fear for yourself and wonder when the bullet with your name on it will come. Thanks again.

[therisa]

How I long
To wipe away
The tears
Which stains society.

Replace the inner darkness
With the joy of hope and love
Which too many people know
And dread.

Giving comfort
To love ones
Of those
Who have fought
This battle and lost.

Having seen
The battlefields
Left behind.

Just one heartbeat
From here
And yet
So faraway.

May your friends find solace, in this tragic death of their daughter.

[Kho-San]

First of all, I must apologise if what follows appears insensitive or offensive, I truly mean no offence and can see that the issue of drug addiction is a deep and tragic problem for society.

However, before I read the description or the comments, I read the poem, and while I could see that it could clearly be read as poem on the consequences of drug addiction, I could not help but also see it as a poem on that first infatuation with a brilliant woman, and the ensuing desire, which then explodes into an intense period of pain and depression. And even when you're finally free, and you look back and see her for what she truly is, not the perfect image of purity and divinity, but your treacherous heart still aches for her.

Thank you for this poem, and if I have offended with my clearly undesirable interpretation, please don't take it to heart, it is a beautiful poem about an ugly thing and has caused me a great many deep thoughts.

[icelandicblue]

Please do not apologize. I was comparing heroin to the woman you saw in the poem. That was my purpose. However, please know that once any poem is released its meaning belongs to the reader for like beauty we all see something different when we look at and for it. Thank you so much for your comment. I do appreciate it.

[Kho-San]

Yes, I completely agree with you and I am glad that you are such an open minded poet - I have come across a few who have not quite liked a different interpretation.

[icelandicblue]

I always tell my students when you write you write for your audience, otherwise keep a diary, and only then may you own your thoughts and meanings for eternity.

[icelandicblue]

There are no wrong interpretation, just different ones. I avoid those touchy, prickly, self-important poets because if there is only one answer then it might as well be an SAT passage and that only ruins poetry it does not enhance it. When we look at a painting do we all see the same thing...absolutely not and scholars spend centuries interpreting the work. Look at all the treatises on The Last Supper. Thanks again for commenting.

[Kho-San]

Haha, I will be certain to play that card the next time I come across a grumpy poet! See, had you been my teacher I would never have felt so scared of offending poets. Thank you.

[redflutterby]

I really dont know what to say besides this brought me to tears...tragicly stunning poem...heart breaking..
My prayers for the parents and the daughter they will grieve endlessly for...x

[icelandicblue]

There are no words...that's why I write...such an irony. Thank you so much red. It's getting more and more dangerous out there. Kids are now dying more from overdoes than from car accidents. Just heard that statistic. I appreciate as always your support.

[Vidya Bacchus]

I know well the endless downward spiral of those who choose their addiction over everything else. My ex husband is a drug addict and I have seen him struggle with this and lose time and time again. This one touched me deep Lady Blue.

[icelandicblue]

Thank you Vidya. It is an unbearable thing to watch.

[Vidya Bacchus]

Yes it really is.You are welcome :)

[jacob erin-cilberto]

reminds me of friends who battled this...and there was no victory...only death.

a very dear friend of mine has been in and out of facilities for alcoholism...called me a couple months ago...was doing great...the other night she got toasted and got into an accident..totaled her car...

she is okay, but doesn't remember anything..

[icelandicblue]

This girl had been clean for 1 1/2 years, had an apartment a job and for all intents and purposes looked like she was really turning her life around. Your friend and this death really drive home how the victory over addiction is really only one day at a time. Thank you jacob and I hope your friend can go back to where she was a few months ago.