CRACK MADNESS
The madness came to infect
My store today, streaming in
One by one trying to lift
Whatever they could for their God;
The Dealer. Bottles of wine and
Steak aplenty they attempted to nick
But every last one we stopped
Told ‘never come back’. One did
Put up a fight, I had him by his hoodie
One of my colleagues went through his bag
As another held his arms behind
His back. Alas he broke free and one
Of us, fortunately not me, got covered in
What he was so desperate to steal,
Damn sticky horrid yogurt.
They would enter and i’d let everyone know
With the simple words ‘crackhead alert’
We’d move into place, awaiting their abuse,
Their leas of innocence but this lot lost all
Of that years ago.
All i have to ask is why?
Why are there so many addicts stalking
These streets, looking to get fixed or
Looking to get clean?
How come so many lives are a mess?
I wish I had any answers beyond the
Obvious it’s crack madness.
©2024 Bradford Middleton All rights reserved.
Bradford Middleton lives in Brighton, UK. Recent poems have featured at Mad Swirl, Fixator Press, Stink Eye Magazine, Beatnik Cowboy and in the ‘Rebel Anthology’ from Back Room Poetry. His most recent chapbook, ‘The Whiskey Stings Good Tonight…’ was published early 2023 by the Alien Buddha Press.