TANGLED IN DELAY

 

Tangled in Delay

The Weight of Duty

The should-do’s perch like stern schoolmasters,

Their crisp commands scrawled in bold ink—

A laundry pile rising like a mountain range,

Bills stacked high, their edges sharp with warning,

Emails blinking, insistent, unread,

Each a tiny scream clawing for attention.

Yet I shove them aside, let them gather dust,

Traded for the siren call of just-one-more,

A fleeting reprieve that stretches like taffy

Across the hours’ brittle frame.

The Captive Gaze

Her laugh spills out, a cascade of silk,

Detouring attention, solely to her eyes—

Twin lanterns shimmering in a fogged dusk,

Drawing me in, drowning out the world’s demands.

Sentences flow from her lips like ribbons,

Each syllable a lure I fight to resist,

My hands trembling, caught in the pull—

To reach, to trace, to press against

That forbidden curve of her mouth,

A kiss I cage within the bars of restraint.

The Bargain of Excuses

Excuses bloom lavish, draped in velvet phrases,

Dressing-up delays with the extravagance of words.

I barter them gladly, haggle for stolen scraps,

Five minutes more under her dominance,

Her control tightening like ivy over

The warped lattice of my cluttered space.

I tell myself, Just this once, then back to work,

But once becomes twice, becomes an hour lost.

The guilt gnaws, a persistent ache,

Yet her smile, a balm, soothes it away.

The Sweet Surrender

And so I linger, caught in this sweet suspension,

Trading duty for delight, time for her touch.

The should-do’s will wait, patient or not,

Their clear instructions fading, unheard,

Beneath the weight of her shadow.

For in this stolen slice of now,

I am hers—

A willing captive to her quiet conquest,