it’s a hard place to live.

the briars digging into my skin,

the rose-thorns curl like a noose around my neck.

rocks fill my lungs,

leeches crawl down my throat.

there’s belladonna and lead in my blood,

rot tearing through my stomach.

I’m a moon, I’m a mouse,

I’m coal, I’m a diamond.

I’m an unsharpened knife,

I’m broken glass.   

I’m a corrupted home,

a burning forest —

a dead body.