Ben

i hope
my dear friend
that we are going to meet on the other end of this fight

stronger and sharper than we were
even before we tumbled together into the storm
that left us drenched in remorse

i am sorry that when i last tried to dry off
i cut ties with you

i thought it was the right thing to do
but not speaking to you didn't rid my thirst

even leaving Milwaukee was
not enough
to circumvent the craving

but when i got the word that you were going into treatment
i decided to take another swing at this sobriety thing

you
inspired me to try again and
i hope
it sticks for both of us

that somewhere down the road we can find each other as sober
but wiser
than we were when we were younger

back when we could get high from banging our heads to a Pantera song
and shaking our fists to an Angry Samoans record

i hope
my dear friend
that we can find a path that leads neither of us back to a bar stool
or a liquor isle

i hope
that the future is not a grim series of hangovers
shakes
and nauseous withdrawal

i hope
and
in spite of my cynicism
i pray