Ah, this is a very personal poem indeed. Very courageous of you to write and post it, Dave.
Good you found a way out of the maze.
For me, I ditched the cigarette and overeating decades ago already and never looked back. So glad to not be a slave to anything but fresh air and clean eating nowadays, hehe.
To outgrow your old self is the most difficult thing to do, well done you :-)

Take care, Ingrid

I totally understand the feelings that you are conveying in this poem, having gone through my own addiction. Great work ????

I love the ownership this poem takes of how when we are hurting we can end up hurting others. I also loved the echo of determination to try again and this time do right.