A Fiend to Time

A friend of mine's been using.
But he tells me it's okay.
Because he found the stuff and didn't pay.

It helps his mind not to worry he will say.
A stream of assurances follow like a tale.
"It helps, it's different, it's just the same, it's only today..."

He tells me that it steadies the hand and other things I know aren't true.
He says this to me, but he's speaking through.
He's talking to the part of him that wishes he wouldn't do,
the things he knows he shouldn't do.

A friend of mine has been hard to call. His conversations are short.
And even when I reach him,
it's like speaking to a wall.

He doesn't have to tell me what he's doing.
He doesn't have to say.
Because it's not me he needs to convince.
And every price will be paid.