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Jul 14, 2026
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Beating the Statistics: Children of Addicts
When you dearly know an addict there are few things you start and stop expecting, with no condition.
Expectation one: stop expecting anything, because what you want, they will rarely be.
What to expect when expecting: the addict edition. Call it sedition, my contrition for the statistical division.
As a child of an addict, you may fear that their addiction is tradition, that one day you will be in that position.
Fear not! The cards have not been dealt, I know how you have felt, running from that rust belt to be free, away with your lock to find a key.
When you dearly know an addict there are few things you start and stop expecting, with no condition.
As a child of an addict, you must have more ambition, hold onto a goal and set off on a mission.
Seizing control of your future, yet wondering: is this all I’ll ever be? A compilation of all my tragedy. Will they ever truly see what I was meant to be, simply me?
What to expect when expecting: the addict edition. Call it sedition, my contrition for the statistical division.
As a child of an addict, we do not wonder when we will see our parent, but if the price of their condition has demanded submission as its tuition.
If— when that phone rings, will they have finally paid the fee?
When you dearly know an addict there are few things you start and stop expecting, with no condition.
You cannot waste your life waiting for someone else to pay a debt yet due, so you move through and forward to your transition.
Flee the debris of their memory without a final decree while you hope their condition doesn’t affect your mission to be free.
What to expect when expecting: the addict edition. Call it sedition, my contrition for the statistical division.
You have entered the world alone, working with hyper vigilance and absolute precision.
Working toward a life time guarantee that you are your life’s grantee.
When you dearly know an addict there are few things you start and stop expecting, with no condition.
What to expect when expecting: the addict edition. Call it sedition, my contrition for the statistical division.
— Written at age 22, 2026.
— AbsentMinded, Jul 14, 2026
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About This Poem
Last Few Words: I am the child of an addict and a family of addicts. This is about my experience of running forward and dealing with the guilt of not looking back.
Style/Type: Structured: Western
Review Request Direction:
What did you think of my title?
How was my language use?
What did you think of the rhythm or pattern or pacing?
How does this theme appeal to you?
How was the beginning/ending of the poem?
Is the internal logic consistent?
Review Request Intensity: I want the raw truth, feel free to knock me on my back
Editing Stage: Not actively editing
Critiques
Trouble
4 days 21 hours ago
Beating the Statistics: Children of Addicts
hey AbsentMinded nice to meet you my name is trouble I felt you emotion in your poem but in the first line When you dearly know an addict there are few things you start and stop expecting, with no condition. I would consider changing dearly to completely. also thier instead of there are a few things you have to understand ( that would be a better way too lead the reader) to follow the rest of the poem and one poet told me that sometimes less is more like forcing unnecessary rhymes it can clog up the clarity of the poem
sincerely your friend Trouble
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