The Drugs We Choose

There is so much to drink in,
to taste and savor,
when our sight isn’t deadened
by the drugs we choose.

How rich the world is
when our senses listen,
and we throw off
our blanket of numbness,
and we abandon ourselves
to the rawness and thrill
of being alive.

It stings,
to be without the bandaid
of the drug we choose,
the liquid, the chemical,
the digital distraction
that lulls us.

It is like coming out
of a dark room,
and being assailed
by the blinding light,
until we adjust to its brightness,
and, trusting in our own resilience,
relax into the freedom
of the open sky.