“On paper, my brain looks like someone
let the Very Hungry Caterpillar off his leash.
On paper my colors are unusual,
rare blooms in an untouched jungle,
the kind that smell like corpses
I push ten-letter words into my mouth
with my fingers, so far back that I
trigger my gag reflex, forcing myself to
swallow them like you force your dog
to take its medicine; for its own good.
I am a television boogeyman.
I am my grandmother.
I am the man who killed her.
I am sleepless, sleepless.
Every so often I taste pennies
but can never remember why.
Every so often there are corpses in the bathroom.
I pluck an insect from a hole in my skin
and crush it between my teeth.
I am a person who should not be."
--Olivia, Student
