Substance Abuse

Kitten soft and gentle screams
Melt into pallid pulses of the night.
I must lie involved with dreams
To freeze the unease of now.

He calls from another world;
Insipid intrusions on insular rides.
But you can leave all curled
On a duvet warm and bright.

To succumb to the numb
Soothes the slow sweep of despair.
The joy of elsewhere
Is worth the price to be dumb.

College clean machines whir-
Should I infer from the cat’s purr
Happiness reigns supreme?
I seem to dissolve....