Dancing with Demons

She talked about her struggles
With the fermented fruit of the vine,
And about family parties, when she filled her wine-glass,
With alcohol-free wine…
And all I could think
Was about some folks I knew,
How it would be if they tried to swallow placebos
While every one else did dope - cuz they knew what it would do…
And I pictured a junkie with a water-filled rig,
Who shoved the plunger and shot up, in vain;
Just how they would think it was not a real-enough gig.
I thought of tortured souls who try to "act as if,"
And don't realize what this battle is really all about.
We get another shot at this thing called life, and it's a gift.
But if we toy with the same old concepts and try to fool our head,
We may lose our second chance, go back out;
We may succumb, then we may get discovered somewhere, quite dead.
You gotta know this, you gotta see, it's not just the liquor or dope.
And the true addict knows what we can't do alone, we can do together,
And we don't survive alone on just a single prayer and some unreal hope.
If you dance with your demons and try to do it alone,
You may lose your life to our sickness,
So that's why we tell you - you ain't no superman - so pick up the phone!
3/18/2004