Inhale the void.

Stretch every limb of this decaying carcass into the vast gap. 

Stick your head into the jaws of the beast, play your part.

For those who are quietly aching, who are burning without making a scene.
Longing to be met, heard, or held.

Of course we are

Exploding

Toddlers building sandcastles on a beach

Anyone can do anything to this body.

I wish it weren’t the case, but that’s the setup.

I am constantly looking for something to binge o

To feed the worm in my gut.

That voracious parasite starving for meaning, safety and time.

A man stops me on the street and commands, “Smile.”

I lock into his gaze.

Like coming across a wounded animal lying bloody in the road.

Well now I’ve really done it. I could not squelch my constant placating, my nervous laugh, my shrill tone. I could not squelch my hunger to be seen, to be known, to be recognized, to be right, to be good.