Play the 8 Track (Poem)

All hopeful recovering alcoholics beware
the wiles of summer are almost here

Sunny days and starlit nights
Aromatic breezes and charismatic sights

The beaches are ready
The barbeques are set
The coolers are fit to go

At any given moment the euphoria will enmesh
And your mind will forget to recall

Before you find yourself in that all too familiar trance
Fixating on the sweat dripping down a tall glass

I bid you to invest in an old school 8 track
A loop that can’t skip forward or keep turning back

Track one
Level the volume on your addict brain
Remember your disease can talk a good game

Track two
Think of all your old botched attempts
To control your drinking
Or be like the rest

Track three
Don’t sugar coat what you deserve
A thousand is never enough
And one is never worth

Track four
Take a trip down memory lane
Don’t forget all the times you lost all you gained

Track Five
Mix it up
Emphasize the consequences
Map it out
Don’t placate the nonsense

Six
When in doubt
The answer is no
People, places, things can get out the door

Track seven
Take some time to stick with the winners
Cuz when the game is over
They’ll take you out for dinner

Track eight
Play the tape all the way through
And if it don’t work
Just wait for the loop