Mornings of cinnamon-fried donuts Days of sweaty foreheads and rosey cheeks Evenings of dancing barefoot across cool grass Nights of fire-smoke and charcoaled hands Moments that flew by as quickly as they came Life was timeless Until an overbearing cat Laid itself on my chest It’s weight making it hard to breathe To dream I enjoyed the solitude it gave But I hated the complacent comfort it created It’s purr cooled the hatred into numbness Each purr caused it’s claws to sink into me a little more My thoughts became incoherent; stagnant Dust-filled air clouded a dim-lit room It’s fur left me itching at my skin until it bled Reminding me that I was still alive Yet only as a shell of myself Moments flew by, unnoticed, as quickly as they came Mornings of hollowed-eyed stares in the mirror Days of cold feet and picked-at-skin Evenings of pacing across dead confidence Nights of burnt-loathing and restless thoughts The cat dragged in A flower That wilted before ever being fully bloomed