-a collection of lost warmth

the centipede chorus

you used to give me butterflies,
and then you told me that they were childish.

so the feeling of fluttering wings turned into a stomach bug.
and when they came back up and spilled out of my mouth, i saw centipedes.
i watched them squirm and curl their limbs as they hit the floor,
and as their life drained from them, they sang your name.

the legged creatures flood my room,
covering the floor.
they praise you, worship your every move.
i watch their souls crawl out of their shelled bodies, and yet every breath you take sends an electric current into my spine.

i realize i soon begin to grow legs too.
i'm becoming one of them,
i feel my wings tense and shrivel away,
and i too sing your name.

-m.h.