Johanna Linker
Old photos depict a joyful time
But time erased your smile
Your golden eyes that used to shine
Appear now synthetical
Your infectious laugh, I hear
As the memory plays in my mind
Happier days feel near
When I think of these jubilant times
That laugh, we share
Those eyes, mine too
The pain, we bear
A bond, I cannot undo
I watched you succumb
Take up your cross
Felt you turn numb
As you surrendered to loss
Submitted to the bottle,
Your one true God
It rose to the forefront
Of your elusive facade
A prisoner to your addiction
I now see inside
Crying out for help
Through your glossed-over eyes
The eyes that we share
The addiction, mine too
But the burden I bear
Has become courage, anew
A strengthened resolve
I gain from your chains
As I release mine own
And rise above the pain
Now liberated,
Free from past mistakes
Emancipated,
But tending wounds of your unrelenting hate
I tried to pull you up
From your personal hell
Held on for dear life
But my resolve began to fail
Now I watch from afar
As you carry the weight
Of a cross that isn’t yours
While you tempt your fate
Not one in the same
Not two so alike
An inherited affliction
Becomes my lifelong fight