Blither
© 1999 Jim Rivers
Real Audio sample   (30 sec)

"Yea man, that stuff'll mess you up"
"I'm all oblitherated - I'm a blither"
   "Yea, well, you don't look so good"
"Unhh!"
   "Let's get outa' here"

She said it'd all be alright
Just follow the light
She sat there talking all night
Saving my life

For so long there I lay
Beneathe the crushing of waves
That's how long I held on to your eyes
There in the sky
Keeping me sane
And saving my life

Say what you will about life
Here as I lie
Grasping at straws in the night
And screaming for life

For so long there I lay
Beneathe the crushing of waves
That's how long I held on to your eyes
There in the sky
Keeping me sane
And saving my life

~

A rock song about surviving an overdose.

The party broke late and a bunch of us piled into a car and lurched on down the street. It didn't take much wild driving before the drugs and booze caught up to me in a bad way and I had to ask them to pull the car over now! I fell out the car door and started retching like an old beggar. I wobbled a few times then felt myself passing out. But even through the heavy visuals I could see my so called friends panicking. They got back in the car and took off! I remember crawling. I couldn't see anywhere to crawl to, just the need to keep moving. That too was soon denied me as I lie there struggling like a broken toy. A neon sign flashed somewhere nearby it's colors dominating the heavy air.

Footsteps, did I hear footsteps? I tried to speak but my voice was deep underwater. I thought I saw a face but the image was distorted by waves. I thought I heard a voice, I hoped I heard it, I needed to hear it.

Several times I came close to the surface, close to consciousness and in those few moments I saw her. She held me in her arms telling me to stay with her. Me, a wretched stranger. After that I never met her, never had a chance to thank her. The hospital said she wanted her anonymity. I can't blame her, not the way the world can be. When good Samaritans lay in tatters alongside the road right next to those they would try to help. But she made a difference and I have tried to repay her through others that I have come upon. I hope she still believes.