Forest Fires

You used to feel like a smoker

Shivering in the cold

Waiting outside the bar

Until the opener's over

But now you feel like a drinker

Twenty days off the shots

Down at the liquor store

Trying to call your sponsor

You used to feel like a forest fire burning

But now you feel like a child

Throwing tantrums for your turn

You used to feel like a prophet

And everyone wanted to know

How you could tell the truth

Without losing that soft glow

But now you feel like a preacher

Evoking the flames of Hell

Some drunk fisherman

Chasing after the white whale

You used to feel like the prodigal returning

But now you hate what you've made

And you want to watch it burn