Ashes of my past sift,
Cascade through my brain
As the shower spray
Splashes against my face.

The red end of nicotine-like addiction
Burning in a choking love poem long gone.

Poisonous people puppet a shuddering, stumbling me
As I jump to reclaim my own strings.

Aftershocks abound in the snotty mucus trail wake
Of a spineless slug who fathered a decade-old quake
And a beautiful pair of tragically cursed blessings to the world.

The haunting refrain of a once-irresistible tango
Friendship flows to flirting, rolls over for foreplay, dips into more,
Then
Abruptly  
Ebbs 
To idle posturing, 
Then regret,
Then

Silence.

Even the most fervent moans 
Are poor consolation
For trusted friends now gone.

Thoughts trickle like water,
Malignancy’s set adrift.
I step into the warm towel of my power,
Leaving my demons behind to drip
Down the drain.