Black Cat Addicted
A Found Conversation
in Three Parts with Greek Chorus
Part I: Craving
Narrator: 88,000 deaths a year are attributed to excessive alcohol
use.
Wife: Don’t
understand why you insist on ways of living such a dangerous life.
Husband: I grew, day by day, more moody, more
irritable, more regardless of the feelings of others.
Wife: Time after
time you stay away. And I just know that you’re telling me lies.
Husband: My disease grew upon me…the fury of a demon
instantly possessed me. I knew myself no longer.
Narrator: The alcoholic is frequently in the grip of a powerful
craving for alcohol, a need that feels as strong as the need for food and
water.
Wife: Black cat,
nine lives, short days, long nights. Living on the edge. Not afraid to die.
Chorus:
The cars are crashed
The friends are lost
The case of beer is
all that matters
Your next fix around
the corner
Part II: Loss of
Control
Narrator: Up to 40% of all hospital beds in the U.S. are being used
to treat health conditions that are related to alcohol consumption.
Husband: My original self seemed to take its flight
from my body…
Wife: Scheming,
planning lies to get what you need…
Husband: Have we not a perpetual inclination, to the
teeth of our best judgment, to violate that which is Law?
Wife: So full of
promises you never keep. Better watch your step or you’re gonna die.
Husband: I could not rid myself of the phantasm of
the cat. I longed to destroy it with a blow. The creature left me not a moment
alone.
Wife: Black cat,
nine lives, short days, long nights. Living on the edge. Not afraid to die.
Narrator: Alcohol abuse is the third leading cause of death in the
U.S.
Chorus:
The children are gone
The job is, too
Arrests, court dates,
jail time
This is what life is now
Part III: Physical
Dependency & Tolerance
Narrator: Excessive alcohol consumption increases aggression,
increasing the risk of physically assaulting another person.
Husband: Beneath the pressure of torments, the feeble
remnant of the good within me succumbed.
Wife: Don’t you tell yourself that it’s
okay.
Husband: My usual temper increased to hatred of all
things and all mankind.
Wife: Sick and
tired of all your games.
Husband: An Incarnate Night-Mare that I had no power
to shake off.
Wife: Better
watch your step, or you’re gonna die.
Husband: My wife, the most patient of sufferers…
Wife: Black cat,
nine lives, short days, long nights. Better watch your step, or you’re gonna
die.
Husband: …incumbent eternally upon my heart.
Narrator: The majority of alcoholics need outside assistance to
recover from their disease.
Chorus:
Accidents and suicide
attempts
Beat within an inch
of life
Abandoned by family,
homeless
Self-pitied and
proud, endless
How does the Black
Cat survive?
The nine lives will deplete
someday
The losses, the
sorrow, the waste…
Too late? Is it too
late?
Sources:
“Black Cat” by Janet Jackson (song)
“Black Cat” by Edgar Allen Poe (short story)
Center of Disease Control
National Center for Alcoholism and Drug Dependencey
National Center for Alcoholism and Drug Dependencey
