I can feel it in my throat
Everything they’re afraid of
Everything they try to drown
In the belly of bubblegum, bows, and bears

I gasp for air but the salt
Fills my eyes and nose and mouth
Cacophonous dissonance distracts my over-attentive mind

My stomach turns,
The acid burns the books, the bras, the bursts of emotions
And voices
And thoughts
And lyrics

I want
I want
I want to lift the latch and unlock the cage of silence
Nothing comes out right
Nothing but BITTER

What about my fantasies
My imagination
My freedom
My creation

Whispers and screams and creaks
Ineffable sounds secrete through the salty sensations

Sex and spirituality
Love and lust
All rise like chunks
My mouth refuses to release the pressure

It rushes through my arm
my palm
my fingertips
my black,
ball-point pen
is the only escape for my
THOUGHTS

My thoughts
My voice
Myself
Regurgitating ink
black lines
words
meanings
me,
you,
the universe of trees and emotions

on my knees
on the tile
into the clear depths
of sewage