By Sally Wong

Empty bottles of Kilbeggan strewn,
skunk-like odor of cannabis lingers,
man with bare derriere and hirsute chest,
on the couch, she laid restlessly reflecting . . .

Cocktail nights, lounges with glittering goblets,
triple shots of tequila and lonely strangers;
mornings of remorse and doses of NoDoz,
Devoid of devotion, she depended on drugs.

Glass shard with flecks of pink cocaine,
a potential knife to annihilate her pain. 
Temptation, a deceptive cauldron.
Addiction, an inescapable inferno. 

She knelt to a god that she could not see,
A body that she could not hold,
A voice that she could not hear,
Something to deliver her from destruction.

Red mascara dripped onto the white carpet,
Invisible spirit crossed her skin;
Within her heart, she found true escape:
The tingling sensation of salvation.