all vices are evil

I thought smoking cigarettes was cool

that it gave you the charisma of an adult

and earned respect in the eyes of other

kids. Inhale, exhale and repeat. Helps

you calm down the nerves, they said.

I bought packets of 20 for my father

his daily medicine for all that stress

until I saw him coughing up blood.

Hemingway, Fitzgerald and Bukowski

engrained in me that alcohol was the

gateway to writing hardcore literature

and I kept drinking my liver to shit -

but couldn't pen a line worth anything.

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I saw an old school friend who fought

his demons out in rehab; and came

back to fentanyl and benzodiazepines -

murdering his wife in a drug-induced haze.

my neighbour got arrested a month ago

for raping a young girl in a flat downstairs

and said his lust got the better of him

seeing her in a small dress getting

friendly with some unknown boy.

sometimes, all we can do is hope

and pray for a better tomorrow

betting against all odds and knowing

that only a silent hell awaits us.