First death of the year.
Labeled, tagged, and tucked away
From the view of polite society.
Tiny headline
Too small for older folks to read.
Not even an obituary,
Buried amid the trivial
Pretty news.
Your name, a mystery.
Your anonymity forever
Saved from fame
By those who turn their nose in
Disdain at your demise.
On New Year's Eve,
Unnoticed,
Drunk tank,
Convulsing in your own waste
While no one bothered
To call for a medic.
You might think it odd
That you are one I would
Call back from the great beyond,
But there I was,
Basking in my own wealth of sobriety.
Escaped from the horrible death
That came for you.
How many times, I have refused a drink
In times too painful to grasp
With clear mind.
Because of you,
Nameless and forgotten drunk,
Scourge of society.
Perhaps you sat a while
In our cushy, warm and fuzzy
Twelve step functions and
We never noticed
While we relished our own
Freedom from chemicals
And bragged at our accomplishments,
Clean dates, or celibacy.
We patted ourselves on the back
At our ability to usher in the New Year
Sober,
As if we were something special.
I wish I could to tell you
You didn't die in vain.
Someone noticed.
Someone cared.
Someone cried for you
While she counted her blessings
And breathed sober one more day
In your memory.