Minoru

My stomach is tied in slowly tightening knots.

The days and years ahead are terrifying.

There is nothing I can do but sit with the buzzing bees in my mind.

I feel thorns and vines growing in my throat as I lose my ability

to speak.

But I don’t need to when I’m with him.

The warmth and callus of his hands plant flowers in

the cracks and ridges of my rattling mind.

The thumping of his heartbeat pressed against my temple

scares away the starving crow eating away at my self-respect.

He makes sure to lock the door behind him

leaving my anxieties to rot outside in the storm they created.