Paradise, Fool || Poetry

Sickness

10 April, 2023
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When sickness is a place you live in
How do you cure it?
When you have nowhere else to go?
You stay away from the sickness-soaked walls as much as you can
A guest to whoever would have you
A loiterer in the malls and sidewalks
But those are numbered hours
And when the sun goes down, do you have any choice but to not return?
The sickness has seeped into your belongings anyway
And your suitcases are battered from all the times you've tried to run –
All places eventually catch the sickness, you see
So when does the running even end?
When you get cold enough and hungry enough
You throw your mouth wide open and swallow the sickness whole

Then wonder if you were the carrier in the first place.