Tethered with a flimsy cage of marrow,
I sit, stand,
Padded with a layer of softness.

And the things that seem too real
Every germ, bug,
every word that penetrates me
that wiggles through my pores
I cannot stop them,
I cannot hold up my arms and scream
"Take me!"

I can only lay still as they lift my lids
Infiltrators tugging my lashes
The familiar sloshing as they march through my eyes,
ankle deep in the wet jelly
that guards my dreams

And I blink twice but they're already in
they're broken through
They've set base in my retinas
Looking out from the inside,
Pointing in awe at my star freckled fear.