dark

white hot flames, stinging my lungs
wanting so badly to break forth
.
.
battle it back to smile and kiss a cheek
fasten a tiny shoe
fold a mountain of socks
feed the dog
sweep the floor
.
all the while
simmering
.
buried deep, so far beyond reach
I can almost forget it's there

Living
Crawling
Needing release
.
most days that cheeky bastard lies silent
entombed
.
until all at once it rips flesh
and gasps with the ache of a drowning man

thrashing its way outside my mouth
blistering my tongue
leaving behind nothing but charred stumps
shredded flesh

burning brightly, blinding
gleefully covering everyone in the stench of vile, decaying tissue
.
winding its oily way back into a nest of snakes deep in the pit of my belly
.
.
where it waits once more