Stick to me like a smoky breath

after I have had my fifth cigarette 

Even if I brush my newly stained teeth 

or chew mint flavoured bubblegum

It is sometimes very difficult to undress you

You take a step into my life, bigger than you should

and lie on the kitchen floor like cake crumbs

When you move forward, I stagger and slip

A claustrophobe, my getaway is to descend a cliff

I would proudly serve you, assist you on your climb

but I would forbid you to ever push me to exile

Beware that your feet don’t slip on moldy wooden ladders

or else you would fall into a boneyard, hostage to the predator

If you poke a lion, it will devour you, especially when it wanders like a vagabond

I am a lion, a patriot at the core, I defend my honor and my tribe

Stick to me like a tattoo I regret, glued with your charm and wit until I’m suffocated

A claustrophobe, so I push you away to give me space

I carve into my skin which bleeds out buckets of my old debts and I regain myself