Overall, the theme of this poem is the slow realisation that the addiction to heroin cannot last for the addict. The line “How many old addicts do I know?” is almost a direct quote from the patient who I interviewed, and I think that it perfectly sums up the idea that addiction doesn’t last; either the heroin gets you in the end, or you kick the habit. I also tried to show how hard it can be to be in this constant cycle of ups and come-downs, describing the time crawling through shakes, cramps and sweats suffered in withdrawal. I think that through doing this piece, the reading up for it and thinking hard about the patient I realised more about just how difficult and inescapable the situation can seem at times. The poem feels very dark to me, but I did not create this feeling deliberately, I think that it just happened, possibly as a result of my recognition of how hard it must be to be in this person’s position.

The last three verses are perhaps my favourites, I tried to use the idea of thought “bubbles” bursting to convey the slow dawning on the patient first that he has overdosed and then eventually, his last thought before slipping into unconsciousness that it is time that this stopped.