I rode a highway, paved
in pathways of addiction,
bathing in vodka nightmares
of a tearless soul who basked
in a bed of thorns,
while I withered in scorching
sunrises and sets,
becoming a fallen flower
petal, drenched in
red.

- there is just so much to take from this opening. My strongest point was the alcohol, and the nightmares you mentioned with the vodka, it shows the cycle that you drink to escape the torture thoughts and life, but in return, you fall into a deep sleep of nightmares. It highlights the battle of an alcoholic I guess, the trap they become emerged in. Your vulnerability is clear here with the flower, the image I get is of the flower drowning in a pool of blood.

I never saw it coming,
letting go of fear
became an adventure
whilst mourning a frozen
heart upon a midsummer
night in June.

- I love how you give the description of the time here, the weather, it really creates the atmosphere for the rest of the poem and helps that image to be really precise in the reader's mind.

Staying sober became
a crusade within my soul,
kicking the bottle from
side to side on a scuffed
street of darkness.

- I love the idea of kicking the bottle around. It again offers so much, it offers the small idea of what is this person thinking. Are they tempted, do they blame the bottle for their problems, do they want to drink a bottle to drown their problems again, are they even aware of what they are doing, or are they so lost in thought that their actions are perhaps subconscious to them.

Nibbling on an ink pen
in a little coffee shop,
I gaze upon a frozen heart,
birthed with familiar eyes
of a face I once knew,
watching them sipping coffee
in a way that only a sober soul
can understand....

- Great ending, to bring yourself into this little coffee shop, where you can people watch and escape from the outside world. I like the use of nibbling the pen, again, something which implies that you are deep in thought. I also like how you bring the issue of sober souls back up, something you know that only another sober soul would understand, would relate to.

Nice job for the contest Maple, you used the prompts well, blended them together nicely and made a beautiful little scene.

:)

Love and like the combinations

I really loved this when I read it in the contest. :) the metaphor was great and the wording flowed well to tella great story. II'm not great at commenting metaphor poems. But this one really touched my heart.

Nicely pen...reminding me of my life ....

I voted for this piece and I'm so glad that it won the challenge, you definitely deserved it! I nominated it for the weekly contest so I hope it wins there as well. :)

Your words never fail to amaze me! They are just so well thought out and flow effortlessly. <3

Upon my first read of this, I actually envisioned the first stanza as an actual highway with a drunk driving scene, but after reading it a few times more, I realized I wasn't reading deep enough.

The highway is a metaphor for the life you once lived that was full of addiction. You drank to escape your life but yet the nightmares still continued even after you passed out from the vodka, maybe even making them more vivid.

I think the second stanza is talking about the fear of letting go of your routine, your addiction. It was all you had known and you were afraid that without the alcohol, you would feel the things you were trying to escape.

I adore the third stanza and the image of kicking the bottle around! It definitely showcases the thoughts of someone torn between going back to their addiction or following the new pathway towards recovery and a new lifestyle.

The image of nibbling on a pen is great, allowing the reader to envision you deep in thought while considering what to write when you see a familiar set of eyes, eyes that used to be yours and how you can relate to who this person is and what they are going through...drinking coffee as a substitute to alcohol.

Great write, as always.

Ugh!

I get frustrated when I like a poem so much and have no words to describe that!! I have read this piece waaaay to much, and I find myself coming back to read it, wanting to say something about it but no words come out!

Anyways, I just love it <3
xxx