15/2/2024

 15/2/2024, Thursday.

10:27 a.m.
-

I sip at my second cup of tea
this evening.
Lounging in the backyard,
I feel familiarity settle in
as the tendrils of my old skin
creep up and wrap around my fingers.
Suddenly, I am thrust into
an onslaught of visions-
Saccharine sips of cooled lemonade,
Trampled grass, bruised knees,
The whoosh of a bicycle rushing past
only to be greeted
by the summer-scorched asphalt.
Voices, now unintelligible
seek out this decoy of myself.
The telling pitter-patter of tiny footsteps
rings louder in my ears.
Louder, louder, louder,
it does not cease, till my mind is in a spin.
I cannot discern whether or not
that thumping sound blooms from my own heart.
Just as I am certain
my heart shall burst open,
I jolt awake from my reverie-
The alarm rings out, loud and clear.
The sun has gone to rest,
and its place take the burning stars.
I look down, at the creaking floorboard-
the cup has shattered.
I gather the broken shards
and head back inside.