Read Poem: Middle Path by John Blyth Barrymore

The middle path is the hardest road for a man to walk with grace
I’ve spent my life in a cold dark cell or else, well, lost in space
My heart full of peace, harmony, love, greeting each one with a smile
Or hanging out down on Hooligan Street with O.J., Erik and Lyle
People would say as I traveled their way, “There goes John; he’s sober and
chaste.”
Or else they would point as I lit up my joint and say, “There goes John; what a
waste.”
A fit vegetarian, healthy of frame, living on sunlight and seeds
Or making my way down to Tom’s Number 5 to score a cheeseburger with
speed
Then back in A.A., at least for a day, with a promise never to swerve
Or down a dark alley, syringe in my arm, determined to fry that last nerve
It’s a struggle, my friends, to…