The Veteran

Hi, my name is Gretchen, and I am an alcoholic.

This is a fragment of a thing I wrote while I was in rehab trying to kick the habit I’d developed of being a “closet drunk”, drinking wine every night until I passed out to blot out the pain of memories far too close and yet so distant.

I’ve written a bit before about about how I drank, starting out with just “two glasses” of wine at a party or dinner each night, then escalating to “pre-drinking”, getting my buzz on before going out to a party or dinner, then declining rapidly into “closet drinking”…every morning when I woke up…every evening after getting home from a “social event”…until I had no control left and ended up…well, I might tell you where I ended up prior to rehab once we get to know each other a bit more…or maybe not, it’s very personal and I’m very ashamed of it.

So I wrote these words while observing one of my fellow “guests” in rehab…

With a voice worn down and broken

the veteran tells his story

You can tell he is not joking

as he talks of battle’s glory….

The veteran has come around again

The veteran is just looking for a friend

So in need of an ear to bend

Someday, you will be the veteran….

You can fight the fight, try to run away

but every vet has his veteran’s day

a time for time to have it’s simple say

the calendar of war is on display…

The veteran has come to make his stand

The veteran is living out his plan

At day’s end, he is just a man

In the end…you will come to understand

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