Postado by: Camila Tellez Pardo, Acrylic on canvas, 2016.
Temptation
by: Emilee Lawrence
Prop a couple of toothpicks underneath heavy eyelids,
Sweeten my coffee with Baileys,
I’m ready to start the day.
Dragging shoes made of lead,
I’ll get there eventually.
Begging the day to end
Are the minutes counting me down?
As if it matters.
Covering yawns with shining teeth.
But these teeth are not as lovely as they seem,
Just ask my bleeding tongue.
The anxiety seeping through my pores
Like last night’s fun,
Invisible to see with the naked eye.
The torn up tissue where skin meets nail tells the truth.
This understanding disguised itself as wisdom,
And slowly wrapped itself around my neck
Into a rope of delicate pearls.
The knot tightens
As the fog around the finish line clears,
And the cheers from the solace awaiting me on the other side
Grow louder.
The coaxing
Is becoming impossible to ignore.
How much longer
Will I resist the temptation
To knock over the wobbling stool
Beneath my feet?