e.

gum

she smacks apple flavoured gum,
neon coloured and just as suffocating as the noble gas,
she can't remember the last time she ate an apple,
or the last time she saw one that wasn't on the back of a phone.

she chomps strawberry flavoured gum,
possibly the only sweet thing left in her life,
it's as artificial as the smile painted on her face,
she tosses it round her mouth like other people's emotions.

she chomps grape flavoured gum,
it reminds her of the cheap wine that poisoned her liver,
it tastes of sugar and lowered expectations,
she likes the feeling of something in her mouth that isn't an alcohol-pickled tongue.

she gnaws on generic flavoured bubblegum,
popping every bubble that threatens to appear,
it tastes like home, reminiscent of her blandness,
she holds it in her mouth like a secret.

she is never seen without gum,
it merges with her speech and glues her mouth shut,
it reminds her of the life around her which, just like her gum, is slowly losing flavour,
but she chews it even when the taste in her mouth turns sour.

until she has the strength to swallow it.

***

This is one of the rare cases where I'm not even sure what this poem is about, and whether I like it or not. One person could interpret this as a representation of the world, and how it's slowly losing colour and turning sour just like gum does. Another person could see this as a depiction of a girl's life which is obviously not a happy one. Who knows, it's a bit of a jumble.

e.