She smells of sandalwood and jasmine
Of quiet suffering,
Numbed by fake happiness
She talks of a darker future,
And never sees a brighter one
She lies through her teeth
Seldom hearing her own truth
She drinks tea with honey to soothe her mind
To calm her thoughts
Pickling rinds
Of happy memories

She burns a candle
The light that shines
The light that makes space
For the smell of amber to fight
Its way into her soul
A presence, in this night of
Absolute nothing
To procure feeling
To procure something