The words build up inside like a tumor,
ignorance will make them mean—
spare my heart, spare my lungs.
The song "What If" plays on repeat.
Regrets of the past, fears of the future, anxiety of the present—
a tumor never leaves.
Healing is temporary.
Coughing up blood, letters interlaced in red—
it's a disease to keep it inside,
a curse to let them fly—
I must write outside of my skin.