Just One

I’m craving something yummy.
I’m craving something sweet,
I long to fill my tummy
With tantalizing treat.

Been feeling rather gloomy,
In need of having fun,
That’s when the cookies drew me;
So might I have just one?

I taste the choc’late flavor
And relish as I chew
The sweetness that I savor,
Just maybe I’ll eat two.

I see my hand is reaching
And I won’t disagree;
So with my conscience screeching,
I’m taking number three.

Ignoring consequences,
I yearn to have one more.
Rejecting common senses,
I reach for number four.

And still another’s calling,
Regardless how I strive.
My weakness is appalling,
I yield to number five.

I know how I’m behaving
But would it be a sin,
If in my endless craving
I end up eating ten?

Then comes the guilty feeling;
Of course, I’m asking, “Why?”
This treat that’s so appealing
Will never satisfy.

So what if I eat twenty?
I’m sure to overstuff.
Would ever I have plenty
Or could there be enough?

No matter what I’m eating;
Just one or twenty-four,
The satisfaction’s fleeting,
I’m always wanting more.

And so it goes with sinning;
For just like my dessert,
We think in the beginning
Just one will never hurt . . .

This poem was a finalist in the April 2019 poetry contest