I Taste Like

I taste like honey
Dappled light falls across me, pools of sunshine lighter than a feather, and softer still
I taste like honey
My hair haloes my head like a crown I am unworthy to bear
Arms encircle me, protecting me
Or are they trapping me
I taste like honey
Nose to nose, eyelashes dusting my cheek
The arms unwrap from the sheets
And I feel as if I, too, am being unwrapped
I taste like honey
Her skin is a map I can’t read
Her eyes a compass that always points the wrong way
I taste like honey
Beauty cascades from her in waves
Washing me clean
Drowning me
But I still taste like honey

I taste like soap
The water is like warm silk
Like sheets with a countless thread count
I taste like soap
I am shining, the silky water like a sheen on my marred body
Skin tight, clinging to me, choking me, suppressing me
I taste like soap
Slippery yet so sticky, closing me off, trapping me inside myself
I scream for help but only bubbles rise to the surface
I taste like soap
I can see the flickering candles through the impenetrable roof of my prison
So impenetrable yet it ripples with the passing wind
I taste like soap
Entombed in crystal waters
Fractions of light flit through it,
I can feel myself ebbing away
But I still taste like soap

I taste like cheap vodka
Smoke winds around me, hazing my vision
Each breath brings a new layer of reality crashing down
I taste like cheap vodka
Shattered fragments knee high
Smoke tinted glasses distort my view of the world
I taste like cheap vodka
The chatter around me never ceases
Abrasive laughter and drunken proclamations crowd my head
I taste like cheap vodka
Unwelcome arms grip me too tightly
The throng hides the intrusive hands, too many to slap away
I taste like cheap vodka
The smoke is like a noose, and I can’t breathe
The burning in the back of my throat feels liberating but I can’t speak
But I still taste like cheap vodka

I taste like blood
Darkness smells like the last time you got lost
Confusing and panicked
I taste like blood
I let the feeling accumulate
Snowballing, becoming more and more intense
I taste like blood
Darkness smells like paralysis
Frozen and unshakable
I taste like blood
My throat catches with every breath
My body screams in protest as I draw my razor across
I taste like blood
Darkness smells like metal
Cold and unyielding, yet warm and forgiving
Darkness is dictating
But I still taste like blood