Super Cheetos
By Adesuwa Okoyomon
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It is 3am and orange dust is falling from the sky like manna from heaven
I catch it on my tongue I close my lips over it It is an over-the-counter pain killer No, it is ipecac No, it is a cheeto No, it is a super cheeto It is a super cheeto come to save me from 3 days of a juice cleanse It is a super cheeto come to foretell a week of binge eating It is a super cheeto come to save me come to save me come to save me It is a super cheeto come to save me from counting calories Like I am counting out prayers on a string of beads Holy Mary, Mother of God, why do my thighs join together in prayer when I stand up Why do I rub my collar bone at night and make only one wish Hail Mary, Full of Grace, how many calories do I burn if I sign up for Weight Watchers How many calories do I exorcise if I say Atkins in the mirror three times How many calories are in a slice of white bread How many calories are in a tray of garlic knots How many calories are in a sheet cake How many calories are in a super cheeto that has come to save me Friday afternoon at therapyBy Adesuwa Okoyomon
What do you think dying feels like
Is it like being alone in your mind forever And why does it feel like I can’t breathe And what is this feeling sitting on my chest Weighing me down and making me slow And what are these dirt black thoughts in my mind that never stop Like water from a babbling brook And why did it take me 30 minutes to wash my ice cube tray 1 hour to clean my microwave 2 hours to scrub my bathtub Scrub scrub scrub until I can taste the bleach at the back of my throat Until my eyes sting Until my fingers bleed And why I am locking already locked doors Blowing my candle out even after the flame has disappeared Turning my stove on and off and on and off and on and off And do you think the branches of a tree watches its leaves pirouette And do the leaves watch the sky And does the sky watch the ocean And does the ocean watch the sun And does the sun watch the planets orbit around her And does the sun ever feel alone? Adesuwa Okoyomon is a Nigerian writer living in Vancouver, British Columbia. She enjoys writing poems, short stories, songs, meme captions and belated comebacks, but is still figuring out how to write bios. She is pleased to be debuting her poems in The Temz Review. Find her on Twitter: @adesuwaoo.
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