Love, Death

7. body swap

for a moment

i glimpsed

into

the horizon

and i had become

you

and everyone else

it was a thing of beauty

a thing I could never forget

for it was monstrous all the same

i realized

under forest trees tinged

by pine nectar

that we were all

the same

i awoke

got up

started walking

my thighs were aching

my back was crooked

i could not see

it was dark

still

despite the glow

scintillating

behind clouds

i shed my skin

draped it across the ground

finally, i cried

this time

it hurt

to be born

again