Inherent Vice is the tendency of some materials to destroy themselves over time. It usually refers to preservation concerns, as ink and paper, film, leather and metal all have a tendency to interact with their own component parts in a way that makes the whole unstable, even without outside influence.

This is a term I’d heard of last February, but didn’t have the time or inspiration to write then.

I want it to be longer, so I might go back and revisit this after the challenge is over. But the clock is ticking, so here’s what I have.

Pages flake as ink fades Thread crumbles to dust The blood its own slow poison The end assured for us

This bold and bright-tongued acid Our signature and sin As time does tick our slow decay We end as we begin

We are what we are made of A self destructive blend A nature of inherent vice We cannot hope to mend

The film, it fumes to vinegar As images do melt The books are chewing on themselves Each year, more damage dealt

Hide the water, hide the sun Deprive us of the air You can only delay entropy Not save us from its care

We are what we are made of A self destructive blend A nature of inherent vice We cannot hope to mend