Defending Death by Overdose

Savanna Williams

How do I get people to understand an overdose is still a flatline? 
Is cause of  death only notable when there’s no needles?
When there’s no pill that reads “30”? 

“He was always so troubled,” someone sober said that bullshit 
In a world where you tell your doctor you have a shaky hand
They hold it 
And they let go with a bottle of  Xanax at your disposal
In a doctor’s office where you’re asked a two-question survey 
To determine what FDA approved prescription you should get
That’s the same organization that claimed OxyContin wasn’t injurious 
Numbers of  death by OxyContin in 2020, 76,000. 
In a world where the best advice they got about the opioid crisis is statistics 
Numbers of  death per year, 46,802
Numbers of  new users per year, up 27%

“Oh, but it was his choice,” someone else said 
Yet with not enough confidence for me to believe it 
For they spoke with my back towards them
Spoken with not enough confidence in themselves, at that 
Moments like this makes me wonder 
You know that’s not true, but do you hear the lie?

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