No longer are we consumed by you
Yet we feel your presence so frightening near
We were so afraid to close our eyes
In the beginning
When you first took departure
From our body, mind and soul

Filled with fear of your return
Of your hunger for us
We trembled and cried
Endless rivers of tears
But we found solace in fellows
And we learned how to pray

Today we can look at you
Our hearts filled with deep appreciation
For the Grace
We were given when you left us
For the second chance of life
We have been offered to endeavor

As a shadow of the person
We were meant to be
We questioned: Was it our time?
Had we had enough?
Were we done?
And we knew that we were

And in the nick of time
Before we completely got lost
And died
We surrendered - admitted defeat
We seized the battle within us
Embraced it and held on

We cannot afford to be smug
Complacent and full of ourselves
Countless souls are left unsaved
For reasons I care not to know
Many give in to the pull
Of the temptation of a drink

Some give up completely
Surrender to you - the disease
And die
Your wish to be granted
For you are pleased when we are down
And struggle to get up

Cunning and cruel
You cause harm
To body and to soul
And loved ones along the way
Your will is so powerful
It seems pointless to fight back

There is no relief to be found
When life is lived with the isolation
Of your habitation within us
The body damaged and weak
Yet life seems impossible without you
And we are baffled

Like the addiction of a lover we once had
We are possessed by you
Obsessed with you
The way out is dark
The signs are blurry
The map is crumpled

And we travel
Along the narrow tunnel
Where God seldom shines his light
Our eyes and minds closed
Our souls dead
As ours were for so long

There is no light
No map
No signs
At the bottom of the bottle
Where we sat and slowly drowned
Endlessly in denial

Hopes and dreams and
Souls and lives are lost and gone forever
I pray that if we struggle
We can get up and glimpse a light
I pray that we continue to hear the hope
That has been restored in many of us by the Grace of God

I pray that we will always be willing
To find the strength and the courage
To be vigilant and cautious
Of the signs of a drink nearby
I pray that you and I are the ones to stay sober today