I danced with demons, felt their cold embrace,
In those depths of my despair, I thought I found my place.
A fleeting high, a moments peace, but yet the darkness came,
A cycle of destruction, that never ending game.

The laughter turned to silence, love faded to fear,
The faces of my family blurred, their voices disappeared.
I traded joy for numbness, each thrill became a ghost.
In my addiction, I lost what mattered most.

But in that wreckage, a flicker sparked, a whisper in the night,
A glimmer of a future where there’s light.
I fought through every craving, each hour felt like years,
With trembling hands, I faced my past, and finally shed my tears.

Sobriety, a fragile thread, woven with despair,
Yet in its embrace, I found I still care.
Though scars remain to mark the path of battles
fought and lost,
I rise with every sunrise, no matter what the cost.

Here I stand, a warrior, with courage in my heart,
Embracing the uncertainty, ready for the start.
Though the road is ever winding, and the shadows always near,
I choose to walk in freedom, no longer bound by fear.

Kevin Schroeder