Remembrance of Treats Passed

Paul Hughes

The aroma of cheap, instant coffee
And stale biscuits that make
False claim to be French,
Breathes life into the sleepy
Neurons of my visual memory,
A painting in the portrait gallery 
Of my mind, for years unseen,
Its invisible power incites 
A quantum leap of the senses
Back to my first twelve-step meeting, 
A remembrance of treats passed,
Of conversations sidestepped, 
Of eye contact stonewalled, amidst a  
Chorus of chatter, I hover just above
My seat, ready to dart to the exit 
Should I be asked to speak,
Never had I heard such honest tales,
Somehow sprung forth from what must 
Have been the most pained of lips,
Dried out by alcohol droughts,  
Of bedwetting, thievery, nights in 
Police cells and weeks in asylums,
At last, my conscience avows, 
I’ve arrived

Paul Hughes is a breakthrough English poet. He writes about alcoholism, drug addiction, mental illness and religious transformation. He shares his writing at http://instagram.com/prosebypaul