Have you ever had a friend,
The kind who started out as an enemy,
an adversary,
an alien and a stranger,
but one that came closer to being blood
than any relative?
My friend started as a puppy.
Black and furry,
Not yet bristly,
But in time would become
Angry, grow fangs
And claws
Red eyes that pierce the darkness
And beget darkness,
Become darkness
Deep inside.
My friend has had many names.
Loneliness,
Depression,
Anxiety,
Insomnia,
Addiction…
No matter what you called it,
It was always there…
It would come
Without being called.
Like Mary’s little lamb
It followed me where ever I would go.
It followed me here
From the past.
I do not feed it,
Yet I cannot ignore it.
It has become my best friend.
And now that I am older,
And have travelled far,
I see the value of this friend
Who tried to kill me
But made me stronger,
So, I’ll engage in show and tell
Like people do with poisonous snakes
And spiders and scorpions
So that people can see and touch
And learn about them…
My dog…
My skinny, black dog…
Is on his leash.
You can pet him
Just don’t feed him
For fear of losing
Your right hand.
Andre Darius Labuschagne is a Poet, Pastor and Musician from Johannesburg, South Africa.