A single memory

Sitting on the shelf behind my head
Collecting dust in the soft plush
Lying on its back as its dormancy grows

The little lion

Hamlet, named so for the insanity we shared
Sat on my shelf like a paperweight made of cotton

Until tonight

He’s all I have left of you now
As
             You
                                 Slowly
                                                     Drift
                                                                         Away.

My little lion

I did not recognize how small he was
Curled against my chest like an infant
But I remembered the nights we shared
Keeping the nightmares away so I could sleep

I missed him

I missed feeling the delicate fur against my arm
His velvety bow against my wrist
The curve of his plushy paw between my fingers

And now I miss you

Looking in the past,
All the old messages,
All the not so subtle flirtations,
I can’t believe I was so stupid.

It’s funny really
How when we take the time to look back
We laugh at ourselves and the stupidity of our words and actions.
But then we do the same things over and over again with different people.

I’m sure I’ll fall for someone like you again
And I’m sure that the new you will flirt with me like you did,
Only to step on my feelings with your Converse
And pretend like what we were doing didn’t mean anything.

Your compliments were virtual kisses.
Your carefully composed messages
Like the whispered caresses of a gentle lover.
Baby, just because we weren’t doing it didn’t mean I wasn’t feeling it.

Maybe you felt it too,
That thumping in my chest
A thousand butterflies with wings like lead
Beating against my heart.

Maybe you didn’t,
I don’t really care anymore,
But I want to remember this history lesson
Because when the next you comes around I want to know when to walk away

Sloth
Lacking motivation
Doing so little
Wanting nothing but rest
Lazy

An all-consuming plague
Taking everything and hoarding it
Where it can never be found

Selfish narcissist
Self-entitled to everything
Stealing in the night

Not a person, a virus
Poison to thought
Monetary disease

No cure for this epidemic
Taking and wanting all the time
Can't risk spending for fear of losing

Snatching from the hands of the innocent
Grinning in selfish madness
Succumbing to greed

Envy
Covet others
Can't be satisfied
Petulant, insipid little brat
Jealousy