Violent root — a poem

Tendrils knotted
Deep in ventricles
Rooted, grasping
At fresh, sliced capillaries
Deep prisoner.
Planted visitor.

Stem reaching
For the sunlight
Through my mouth
Scraping my throat.

I pull.

The tug, choking.
Spit, blood, mucus.
Easier to leave it be.

As dying leaves block my eyesight
No food can pass,
Sleep can’t find me.

I pull.

Thorns stick nails
Into every nook
I’m crying, but silently.

I pull.

Even while I nurture it,
Even while I scream
Murder.
And vomit you
Out of me.

So I can finally sleep.
Nourish my body,
Not the ivy tendrils
Feasting on my
Insides.

As I wrench your
Root from my heart.
And I cough blood,
No longer.
When your name passes
My lips.