black opium

i bask underneath the diffusion of black opium 

the perfume particles drift down 

cascading from the dusty origin of light

it smells like my eldest sister’s red hair

somehow straddling the multitudes

of bitter almond and pink pepper  

i genuflect beneath Saint Laurent 

with full faith and taste of licorice lingering  

tickling my olfactory senses

while tricking the nose blind

seduced by the fragrant top notes

where underneath my true odor lies

managing to mask the stench

of my rotting insides

churning with the cannibalistic urge

of self destruction and neglect  

whose ravenous gurgles and growls  

are drowned out with the distraction of compliments

i feel a fraud

strangers breathing beneath my neck

intoxicated by the scent laced between intricate threads

of my perfect facade I have deliciously dressed  

and they would eat me too 

if I had anything real left