The Untouched Temptation (poem)

Energy drinks are his past,

Mixed in with cigarette smoke,

Under-aged drinking,

And broken hearts.

He always keeps one with him,

Not in case he needs it,

But in case he falls,

All the way back to the past.

It would be so easy,

Open up the can,

Throw in his heart,

And watch it fizzle away.

Instead he stares at it,

Examines it,

Goes out to buy more,

A fridge full of unopened cans.

Late night comes,

Five in the morning,

Not a wink of sleep,

Not a can opened.

Temptation always present.

Like a yearning to jump from the bridge,

He contemplates it seriously,

But fear holds him back.

A friend notices the cans,

Asks “why so many?”

He shrugs, says,

“You can have some.”

Gradually they disappear.

Some smashed apart,

Others given away,

But not one drank by him.

The temptation fades

Like chalk in the rain,

Washed away by necessity,

His soul's catharsis.

Energy drinks are his past,

When he was self-destructive,

But no longer.

He is self-creative.

-Zero