Some plants wilt if you shift them just an inch. Others thrive even after weeks alone. Some return home to find them thriving still green, wild, loyal He is more a snake plant. I’m more of a peculiar eucalyptus. It’s not my fault. Still, I feel guilty. A sensitive stem. Water me. Whisper sweet nothings. Brush my leaves. Carry me from corner to corner. Just don’t leave me alone drying and crisping. It doesn’t matter. I’ll fade away anyway Love has its seasons Replace me but no

How do I say my stomach is in knots? How do I say my brain is rotten? How do I say my warm, beating heart, full of insect wings, turned icy cold? How do I say: hold me. Overnight, I grew a shiny black hump. I turned into a beetle. All six feet want to run, like horses with wide eyes. All four eyes want to glance away, like a man caught doing crime. How can I say it? I can’t even say it. Stop throwing apples at me.