"run" a piece that symbolizes the helplessness I felt in my craving. How I felt as if I was loosing myself and another thing was taking over. I would go through the motions during the day and get so excited when I could drink again, when I could stop being me and be someone fun. When I could throw all my worries and the gross feeling that I felt about myself away. Through murky water I would swim and never care what was around me I was encompassed by the tiny water bubble and nothing existed outside of it. My protection my "locks" were always on keeping me from sharing, keeping me from letting anyone else in, keeping me from being hurt. The octopus is how I feel my craving is, it has many tentacles always grabbing at me and when I think I have gotten away from its hold another tentacle grabs me. I feel as if no matter what I do or where I go I cannot run from it.

acrylic on canvas, paint is mixed with stucco. It is a fairly small painting so I keep it in sunlight to make the blues pop and for the stucco to cast shadows on the canvas. The poem comes inside the painting can be displayed.