BrokenEchoes

  When we were young Before we understood the world We sought out small dark spaces We slid under the bed We climbed into the dryer We closed ourselves up in the pumphouse We disappeared into the crawlspace We found solace in the kitchen cabinets We searched out these cramped places That could be shut off from view We were hiding from the monster in our home We were always found Now we are older I still shrink from the light I still pursue cramped dim hideaways I may always I hope you have fared better.

Myriad thoughts skitter across the surface of my brain Like a growing swarm of carrion beetles Each moves according to its own internal instinct Gnawing here, writhing there Crawling over one another Trying to find a way in The buzzing and churning are driving me mad Weakening my defenses In time I will succumb I will be infested with the vile scourge The fight will be over And I will have lost.

  I slowly pour myself into my coffee Dissolving quickly - seeking homeostasis I drink in the galaxies When I am sated and warm, I turn off my consciousness Lower my defenses And finally find peace I am one with the world The universe inside this warm mug welcomes me We are, combined, a new entity We are eternal And fragile Extraordinary and unknowable Isolated in this ceramic With tendrils expanding across the cosmos.

  I have a deep unease squirming in my gut Wallowing in the sauces, flopping in the goop It causes me great discomfort and worry This small but growing threat must be dealt with Stilled, destroyed, or purged Before it can cause me further harm How though. It eats, and slithers and grows While I unsuccessfully search for a weakness A chink in its armor, a soft spot to attack If this goes on, I will be consumed And only the parasite will remain