The ache of the Day

The ache of the day
has slowly worn me down
stripping away
my strength,
leaving just me to confess
     my sins
          to this bottle,
One drink before
     I peel back my socks and remove my shoes,
One drink before
     time settles in and swells behind my eyes,
One drink before
     the shower I'll take to numb the stress,

Time has washed away
     anything that was left,
My many moments slowly slide away
from my blurry memory
     with every slurp and gulp.
Leaving only just enough
to refill these illusionary feelings
     of acceptance,

Sometimes when my thoughts
     linger far longer
than my mind can allow,
Something reaches out
     into my ethereal space
     grabbing  pain and pulling away
anything that was of worth,
     leaving behind the wreckage of a man
who will never understand
his lies
were the only truths
he realized.
-Armando Torres