10 May 2026

The Habit

 


The bad habit is back, knocking on the door at 1 am,

Half awakened, half asleep, I gently let it in.

Movements trained to perfection,

Mask is on, time to perform.

Another empty train of thoughts,

Paralyzed, fight-or-flight mode on.

Insecurities hidden in that box

Now spread carefully on the cold floor.

Eyes dry, mouth shut – Hello darling, I am back.

...

Silent and exhausted, I am losing my stand,

Sunken deep into that false retreat of something well known.

My mistakes chasing me, reminding me of weaknesses

I thought I had successfully overcome.

Feeling pressured, no resistance left in me

Should I let myself be lost again

Or try to fight like the fighter I know I am.

Questions running wild in the darkest hours,

I feel I am fading like I’ve done so many times before.

Smile on, deceiving everyone – my finest act,

On the inside dying, trying to scream…

At my weakest, I still manage to resist,

My bad habit, my sweetest torture I cannot forgo,

Like my second nature, I slip up easily.

Like an old friend, I keep you close, unable to release

As if I will be empty once I let it out for good.

I am not misunderstood; I inflict the damage consciously.

I have carried it for so long, my hidden secret

My greatest pain, yet the pleasure I crave the most.

My mind is fucked up; I am not willing to stop.

The bad habit makes me feel alive, still capable of feeling,

Living in denial that the cycle stopped.

Maybe this is what still keeps me sane?

Some wounds are never meant to heal but to stay dormant,

Dressed in guilt and shame, yet I am unable to pretend

That I am fine and happy every day.

I cannot let go of what I know best even test after test,

I am not weak; I am just comfortable with this tendency,

Even driven to the extreme, I still give in.

Awake in the morning, the evidence is washed away,

Tiny fragments of its scent left on my skin to remind me of what I have done during the night.

I know this cycle will one day leave me hollow,

Yet I still hold it dear as if it is a sacred thing to me.

I cannot heal; who will I be without it?

I am nothing without the hunger I have learnt to feed,

So I keep repeating the process I perfected alone in that room,

Till the day it finally takes the last piece of me.