What to do?: A poem about coping with recovery

Content warning: The poem describes someone who is in recovery and experiences depression.

Drew Watson is 35 years old. Raised in Kensington, he grew up with his four brothers and father. Watson had a lot of free, unsupervised time, so he started rapping and writing poetry at 12 years old. Writing poetry became a hobby and outlet to help him cope with his substance use disorder. This poem is about Watson, who is in recovery, and how he feels waking up in the morning and taking a walk to cope. It describes what he sees and how he feels about what he’s been doing to himself. And, he writes, the feeling of wanting to die because of how much “this little blue bag” has total control of his mind and body.

What to do?

Well, I saw you walking this way

A ghostly spectre

With an angel face and a bunch of 

bags wrapped with tiny rubber 

bands that were here to stay

You saw me in a horrid state

A desperately sick, fallen soldier

Who needed to be saved

Walking past beautifully run-down 

girls looking for a date

But you can’t save

What doesn’t want to be saved

It’s a fine line we walk

Nothing you can do to change my 

mind

I’m feeling low and want to be high 

and oh so numb

Well, it can’t be this fentanyl

Has me where I’m supposed to be

Your best bet

Is to stay away from me

Like out of date currency

Worth nothing to nobody

I walk a fine line and slowly pass the 

time

Never saw a cloud that was silver 

lined

I’m quickly running out of time

To piece together

My fractured mind

This little blue bag

Is definitely death’s design

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