Wave goodbye
to the bright-colored pixels
moving on LEDs.

Wave goodbye
to the smile not tied to strings,
made to curve by the puppet master.

To and fro,
to the people who laughed with you,
called them friends
back when they were all you needed.

Swing, pendulum, swing—
to the times you swung around
in ignorant bliss.

This isn’t a goodbye,
young one.
You have been killed,
but you will live on
in memory.

Existing with that constant pain
Deep in the epigastrium,
The soft tissues twist and turn,
Fold and mold into the most painful shapes.

The acid pumps into your tubes—
It burns! The acid takes shape.
It gets stuck in the throat,
It blocks the pipe at a junction.

Breathe... breathe... breathe...
Air won’t pass to the lungs.
Arms grasp at the throat and chest—
What a useless instinct, evolution.

The geyser will erupt;
The vocal cords tense to resonate,
But you resist
To avert strangers’ eyes.

All this swirling and whirlpools—
The mind can’t take,
Though it’s a construct of its own demise.

Through the heart, emotions unfold—
They strangle the rest of the body.

O! My love! This poison in my soul—
Your words, your touch, your love:
The only antidote.