Vice

You don’t know the grip of vice until it’s a noose around your heart.

Trust me- if it went around the neck,
I wouldn’t have made it this far.

…I’d have made it nowhere!
It crunches like the tiger’s jaws
that you never see-
you simply die!

Very few lightning bolts can get the sound right-
The instant crack, arm-slap that rips the earth in two halves.
Yet I feel so slowly shoved
down the slope I’m getting sucked-

I scavenge in the city dump like a red-eyed dog,
but all I know is lying in bed,
ever unmoving.
Just let me vedge!

I actually cringe in terror
at the sound of chickadees,

impinging upon my solitude
with their chirps that sound like
life!

When I am hiding, I don’t
want to move.
I just want my addiction;

it’s all I’ve got to lose.

17 thoughts on “Vice

  1. I don’t know enough about a back story to comment directly to this, for fear of saying something off the mark and causing consternation. I like you way to much to risk that…

    The level of intensity displayed in granite solid, so I will take nothing lightly, as I ask,
    Are you Okay?

    Liked by 1 person

  2. I particularly enjoy the last two verses, as they sum up the central themes of your poem. Your narrator’s voice, too, expresses, I think, the right amount of mental hysteria induced by not being allowed to indulge in its vices. I can tell they want to escape from anything not central to their specific vice, dreading everything else that comes quickly crashing in. In essence, they don’t want to face life, and that’s tragic. Good job in expressing all of these emotions, especially with your similes.

    Liked by 3 people

    • Wonderful thoughts! Thanks for the comment. I’m glad you enjoyed it. It’s particularly good to know you appreciate the hysteria level and emotional expression. Thanks again!

      Liked by 1 person

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