there's this disease i read about
where if you love someone too much
a flower starts germinating
between the walls of your intestines
and splits soft tissue until
you're puking up rose petals
candied with blood.
sometimes when i close my eyes
the effigy of vines wrap themselves
around my neck and i'm powerless
to it and i wake up
with a red stained pillow
and thorns embedded in my
smile.
