Thank you to you both. ❤ And yes Dick— this was my first try at poetry. It just sort of appeared — from my heart because — yes Joe— it is auto biographical. But that’s where all our best stories come from — our own experiences.

Actually I’ve lost more than one friend to alcoholism — this is just latest one that made my heart break. For my generation & where I grew up, it remains the drug of choice to ruin your life and in some cases to kill yourself with.

In this case however the essence of who my friend is has changed so drastically- they no longer resemble the person I knew. Alive — but gone.