Dear Addiction

Dear Dad,

When I was 12, you exposed me to real life.

Sitting in the passenger seat, I tasted the bitter vodka in your water bottle,

And discovered the substance that tore our family apart.

When you returned to the car, I asked you what it was.

Your face reflected your shame as you told me it was not for me.

As the substance took hold of your life,

You left mine.

Dear Levi,

When I was 16, you exposed me to love.

You showed me warmth that I believed would never go away.

But it did.

I felt what it meant to break,

As you told me about the black substance that had taken control of your life.

And then you left.

Dear Addiction, 

You have showed me loss.

You have seduced every man in my life, and snatched them from my grasp.

Your shadow will forever loom over me.

You will be the obstacle that makes me incapeble of forgiveness.

And yet, you have taught me much.

I will never succum to your temptations.

Because I am stronger than these men.

With love,

Olivea Weddell