Having recently had the pleasure of a gift

bestowed upon me, Time, albeit for a solitary

obliging minute, I found that I was not content

in how I handled it, I gave myself Time, but I didn’t

give any of it away

as I should have done

with a smile,

a handshake that was denied me by one,

and even if I cursed under my breath

and the taste of craw and carrion ticks

that scuttle around at the back

of the throat, that delight in the act of living like