Bloodlust:

My eyes linger on his neck, only he’s

Looking away. To hold his jugular

In my teeth, to rake fingernails and tear

Tender flesh--pain, not as punishment but

As a declaration of sweet freedom.

If pleasure is my birthright, if pleasure

Has been denied of me so long, I will

Reclaim it with lipstick, claws and high heels.

I think the word for this feeling is bloodlust.

In the days before the end of the world

In the days before the end of the world, I enjoyed myself quite a bit. Even at that time, I had this idea, this inkling that the world was ending and instead of upsetting me, I think it acted rather as a fire under my ass. It was upsetting, of course, the environmental disasters, the war, the famine, and the death. But it all seemed rather distant. The worst part was that my grandparents in Florida were closer to the end of the world than me, and I did worry about them. But I had enough to eat every day and a house with four walls to live in and that was really all I thought I needed. I worked a lot, but I felt that work gave my life meaning. I had good food and good sex in large quantities and the autumn before the end of the world was warm and sunny, a light hearted mockery of the climate change to come. I found myself doing things like buying new dancing shoes, or booking tickets for a concert in February. I made plans to meet a friend in New York City over winter break, although we both knew full well the likelihood of either of us, let alone both of us, making it to the spring was slim at best. In the days before the end of the world, I called a partner, nearly frenzied. "The world is ending." I told him, "We can't just sit around and do nothing." I cried to him for a while, and then we got off topic and talked and laughed and I went and made dinner. As if I couldn't tell you that it was the end of the world.

Sins series 6 and 7

Wrath

Wrath brings out the worst in me.

So I've given it up for grief.

Enough shouting through the hallways. It's the

Ugliest sin, by far.  So instead I

Grieve, for the words I never say.

For the emotions I can never let

Myself feel.  I'm also an ugly crier.

Pride

Pride is the original sin, they tell

Me. I've never been in any trouble

I couldn't talk my way out of

Just because I ate an apple. Yes,

My hair does look fabulous today. I'm

Glad you noticed. If I'm made in

God’s image,  don't I deserve worship, too?

Seven Sins Series 5

Envy

Envy whispers: what does she have that
I don't? Is it her hair, her
Eyes, is she a better dancer than
Me? I hate the way she kisses
him. Will he love her more than
Me? Will she love him more? Maybe
I shouldn't have had that three way.

Seven Sins Series 3 and 4

 "Whereas gluttony is a failure of self-control, greed is a failure of foresight or consideration." --Google

Gluttony:

"Gluttony and Capitalism" was the title of
My freshman year politics term paper. It
Was fifteen pages, seven pages over the
Required page minimum. Naturally I got a
Perfect grade. It had over ten sources
Of all mixed medias and an annotated
bibliography at the back, in numerical order.


Greed:

My roommate's newest T-shirt has GREED printed
On the back in sparkly gold letters.
Next she plans to buy a new
Tattoo. She informs me that this one
Will be a sea turtle in watercolors
Swimming around a glittering bejeweled necklace. Of
Course, her parents will pay for it

Seven sins series 2

Sloth

I could write a poem on sloth,
I guess. That sounds like a lot
Of work. And this chair is so
Comfortable. And typing is too much moving.
Maybe I'll do it later today. Or
Tomorrow. Or the day after or the
Day after that. I'll do it eventually.

Seven sins series 1

Lust:

Lust is by far my favorite sin
A thousand ships were launched by lust
Men spilled blood and women tore apart
Mountains. Royals built temples and peasants built
Fortunes. The wanting. The desire. The burning.
Sex. Maybe orgasm. And afterwards it lingers
Like sweet candy, sticky and sickening