what do you do when the worms in your brain

By: Edward Duran

 

wriggle their way down your throat and into your lungs?

what do you when they start digging through tissue,

air escaping like a punctured balloon?

it sounds like a wheeze and a sob in one.

it hurts. fucking christ it hurts. you bleed internally as

the worms burrow and burrow, devouring you

piece by piece. your brain raises alarms.

you’re dying! you’re dying!

the worms that remain in the grey matter

curl around each groove to soothe you.

shhhh. shhhh. everything is okay. this is what you want.

this is what you want. this is what you want.

to die.

do you want to die?

what do you do when you don’t want to die?

you tell the worms to fuck off

back to the recesses of your brain.

you breathe deep

- in and out, in and out -

and choke as the worms

wriggle back up your throat.

you taste blood. not as much as you expected, though.

the worms lie, it turns out.

you will survive.