Too Much?

on alcoholism; meant to be spoken word but I don't think this website has a platform for that

How much is too much?
When those words come out of your mouth
you know that this is probably
too much.
the eyes of others seem clear enough
to see the confusion and judgement behind them.
they say it depends on the person
but that isn't helpful at all if they don't know the person
and I just need to know if we have
too much.
"A glass a night is about the limit"
says a mother with a straight-white smile
and a full face of makeup to drop off her kids.
"That's a bit much itself, girlfriend!"
Her Mary Kay vendor says from the passenger seat.
They didn't say if she was having
too much
but even I could read between those lines
and know that throwing a bottle into the recycling
every single morning was
too much.
I knew that knowing how to dilute drinks
at the age of eleven meant it was
too much.
Being able to tell a friend
"water for wine, Sprite for champagne,
Just swap out the hard lemonade for Minute Maid
because she's had so much she won't notice"
is just too much.
But my "too much" is her "just enough"
and nothing angers me more than that knowledge
But God, how are you supposed to help?
How do you help someone who doesn't want it?
How do you take care of a parent?

Reviews

[Shy Joe]

The fire water is a hard one to put out. I know all to well. From experience, the only help is support. Addiction is a selfish act and must be mended the same way. With ones self. If one does not truly want to get sober, it's not going to happen.
I enjoyed your poem. Thanks for sharing.