Consumed

Consumed by days without joy

waiting in the feeding line

thank God the day is done,

without a second thought

to thank God for this day

fall into line, stand straight

the goods will be delivered

in pieces with no goodness inside

assemble with deliberate precision to replace

the allure of escaping into addiction

teetering on the edge of extinction

contentment the infrequent visitor…

of more is less

Until more becomes no more.

-Camille Delaquise

This poem appears in Behind the Facade, Camille’s debut contemporary poetry collection. Consumed speaks to the hollow machinery of modern survival — where repetition, deprivation and false comforts erode the spirit until even desire begins to collapse under the weight of excess.