THE MEAL

When I woke up
The meal was still there
Appetising and beckoning
And just for a moment
......I was fooled....
But on closer inspection
Mould had coated the surface
of the food
A maggot wriggled in the potato
Silvery cobwebs dangled off the plate
Which was cracked
And leaked congealed gravy
Onto the table
Mice had left their droppings ln a mocking pattern
.....it seemed to me.....
And a sickly smell permeated the air
The wine was spoiled
The glass upended and clouded
And....... ruined

So I ached
For the longest longest time
To return to the numbing sleep
To think not
And feel not
To see touch smell and taste
....not
For everything was as soured and bitter 
As I had always found it to be
Under life's fake gold sheen

But a soul awake 
Is not
A soul asleep
And the promise of the meal
Was still
As fake and repulsive
As the world which spawned it.
And I have found that
Illusions are tasteless
Lies and cruelty bitter tasting
Evil and violence stick in the throat
Choking the airways
But a hungry man has to eat
Even one 
With no appetite
at all.
Marion Price(2019)