I kept you in my chest somewhere,
like a little bird in a cage.
you weren't so little though.
you banged around in there,
stretched out far enough to
break my ribs, puncture my heart,
let the air out of my lungs.
maybe you were something like
a stampede of antelope, trampling
everything in your path
simply because you were afraid
of the loud and twisted inner-workings
of the home I tried to give you.
I don't think you meant to shred
your host, but I watched you climb
out of my chest, looking something
between helpless infant and
antichrist and you looked at me.
oh, you looked at me. you held my
hands, you kissed my lips.
and as you watched every bit
of me fall apart, you whispered,
*I don't understand how this
could have happened.