I want a friend who will be patient with me
during moments of insecurities and self-destruction.
I want a friend that will always be a friend,
regardless of what life may throw at us.
I want a friend that will jump in the car
and go on a road trip, just on a whim.
I want a friend who will sing out loud
to a song on the radio. I want a friend that will laugh,
cry, and grow with me. I need and want a friend
that will join me on this journey of self-discovery.
~ Punky
I sit here in the circle, looking at this collection of freaks and geeks,
all looking for the same divine inspiration everyone seeks.
We, the people you see, sitting all together trying to figure it out,
finding the way to recovery together – it’s magical, no doubt.
Every nationality, sex, and creed, some of the smartest people I know,
together we conquer addiction and with each other we grow.
Some of our darkest secrets are shared and lifted from our hearts.
Sharing together ways to get out of our rut and make a new start.
This gift we continue to share doesn’t cost a dime, not one due,
just share and help others by expressing what we’ve been through.
That inner peace and connection with our higher power is all we need
to cast out our demons from the past. Our souls are finally freed.
It’s work and then more work to keep ourselves from that life,
but these steps that we follow cut these problems in half with a knife.
I never have seen a group of people that mean so much to each other,
pushing each other to the fullest potential, like a father, mother, sister, or brother.
The dedication that I’ve seen from the ones that really try,
how they changed in such a fabulous fashion, makes me cry.
We start out as the worst versions of ourselves we’d ever been,
but if we stick with the program, nothing but blessings we will see.
This group of fantastic problem-solvers in AA can overcome it all.
We will fight till the end to kill this allergy and stand proud and tall.
~Damon Ross
God, please forgive me for all I’ve done and all my sins. I’m trying to forgive myself but every
step I take feels like walking on pins.
I know you have been with me the whole way and kept me alive. I want to feel forgiven and
walk with pride. It’s hard to feel like I deserve it from all the wicked I have done.
I want to walk in your steps, helping people laugh and have sober fun.
I don’t want the fake feeling I poured down my throat – I don’t want the things
that I’ve smoked in my lungs, barely staying afloat.
Please God, help me know my path in life, what direction to go. I want to live the right way,
share my story and continue to grow. I know it won’t be easy,
but that’s the price I’m willing to pay. I want to be honest with myself
and my loved ones, no longer being fake.
I have put my life on the line so many times, just to test my fate. I don’t want to hurt myself
one more time and say, “Check mate.” Knowing you have a purpose for me somewhere
down the road, maybe I had to feel this pain so you knew I could carry the load.
But again, God, forgive me my sins, and thank you for the love you’ve shown.
Thank you for my children, my legacy, that will grow. I will thank you each morning and night
for what you have given me, and humbly ask you to lift these burdens of my past,
helping me to be free.
~Damon Ross
Who would love a man who can’t love himself?
Too stuck in his sickness to think of his health.
Too stuck in his ways to ask you for help.
Too busy wasting his pay to think about wealth.
Spending all his days fixing his neck to that belt.
Till the end of those days, no love ever felt.
I lost all hope, feeling like I’d never know why
I crossed that line, turned to dope, but could never die.
I saw the tragedy of the first day I got high.
Now there’s a choice to be made; be a boy or a man.
To lay down to defeat, or to take a new stand.
To be one more lost to the streets, or to trust one more man.
To have the life of my dreams and leave a print in the sand.
If you want a real life and a love that goes deeper than self,
learn to love you, little by little, by taking the Big Book off that shelf.
~ Damien Leach
