The ABCs they didn't teach you.
A Beer, Cold.
A is for Alcoholism, the cause of all distress,
B is for Bank account – empty,
C is for Childhood trauma, that never quite goes away,
D is for ‘Don’t touch my bevvy’.
E is for Ego that can’t see a problem,
F is for Fridge full of beer,
G is for Gaslighting, because it’s all your fault,
H is for Helping pay bills in arrears.
I is for Inventing a different life at school,
J is for Jealousy of friends,
K is for Keep your wits about you,
L is for Loneliness that never ends.
M is for ‘Mum, can we leave, please?’
N is for Nights without sleep,
O is for Offences and assaulting police,
P is for Passed out on the lounge suite.
Q is for Quietly crying,
R is for Rehabs only help for a time,
S is for Shame, cheeks burning with shame,
T is for Tipping out half bottles of wine.
U is for Unrequited love,
V is for Visible bruising, hidden because you’re smart,
W is for Waiting on adulthood,
X is for X-rays, even, could see this broken heart.
Y is for Years of therapy, trying to gain some expertise,
Z is for Zero alcohol in my drink, that’d be great, please.
About the Creator
Joe O’Connor
New Zealander living in London
Teacher of English and History, and sport-lover
Mostly short stories and poems📚
Feel free to be honest- one constructive comment beats a hundred generic ones
Currently writing James The Wonderer
Reader insights
Outstanding
Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!
Top insights
Heartfelt and relatable
The story invoked strong personal emotions
Eye opening
Niche topic & fresh perspectives
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More stories from Joe O’Connor and writers in Poets and other communities.
Vale Perficientur
"My tears need a minute to find the edges of my face. If you'll please excuse me." The sarcasm stabbed into Juliana’s heart. Antonia glared at her from the pit of the Lyceum as her student fought to hold back tears that had nothing to do with the pain in her fingers. “You’re better than this, again.”
By Matthew Fromm5 days ago in Fiction
Comments (15)
Great work Joe! Well done! And so true!
So very real and raw love it!
Brilliantly written and oh so true! Seeing it secondhand was enough for me to choose option Z… Obviously alcohol is fine in moderation, but sadly many can’t cope with it & others suffer the fallout. A valuable story!
Creative!
I love the concept in this piece. There is so much in life that we are not adequately prepared for. Nicely done and a great entry to the challenge.
I'm very much hoping not autobiographical, but it's raw enough for me to believe it is.
Magnificently written!!! Bravo!!!♥️♥️💕
Excellent work. Unfortunately relatable for many I’m sure.
Brilliant. Not a lot of words to show such a lot of complexity
This held so much truth and depth to it. It hit me so hard because it was extremely relatable! I hope this places in the challenge!
oh, I truly enjoyed it. what a good concept you have come up with, and the message is well-put!
I concur with Joe P. This is hugely important. I know a couple alcoholics and your poem rings true. Especially the E and G. Fantastic work, Joe! (Lol, 2 Joes!)
It's just beautiful! I loved it!
This is really excellent. Thanks for writing this and sharing this. Deserving of top story!
Perhaps the most important entry to the challenge.