Consequences

The following poem was handed in today by the uncle of its author. He explained to us that quite soon after his writing of the poem the young man committed suicide. If we are to gain anything from this tragedy it would surely be to take heed of his message within the verses of the poem. Our thoughts are with the poet and his family and we hope that his powerful words will prevent someone else from walking down the same road. We thank him for his wisdom and mourn him and the fact that the world has lost a young man who was obviously intelligent and with a talent for helping others.

The poets mother passed away soon afterwards.

Consequences

I'm just a lad of sixteen years

But my life is almost done

Folk say, at sixteen years of age

Your life has just begun

The reason for my sorry state

Is really sad to tell

My pals were dabbling in the drugs

So I joined in as well

I knew that drugs were contraband

Taboo, against the law

But my pals were doing it, so, so would I

After all, it's just a "blaw"

One night, one mate dared me

With a "whitey" in his hand

Come on kid, try a "whitey"

It'll make you really grand

Another night, he came to me

I was "skint", dead stoney broke

We went into my bedroom

And I was introduced to "coke"

Heroin, coke, LSD

I think Iv'e tried them all

Oh; taking drugs was just the thing

I felt like ten feet tall

But then one day I overdosed

For I had seen, at last

What all those drugs were doing to me

And had done in the past

My family life was ruined

My mother broke her heart

And that was when I asked myself

Why did I ever start?

Why did I destroy myself?

And throw my life away

And get myself into the state

That I am in today

I have the dreaded A.I.D.S. disease

Or, so the doctors say

That's why I took the overdose

To end my life today

So, take heed my fellow druggies

I try to make you see

You repeat what I once uttered

It can't happen to me

My eyes are getting heavy now

And the pen, it weighs a ton

But, by the time you read this letter

My young life will be done

So, goodbye my fellow druggies

My tale I had to tell

Just keep going the way you're going

And we'll meet again, in Hell.