Lead Stomach Poem by Justin Houseman

Amazing, how ants know
Exactly where to bite,
Inflicting enough pain
To make me forget.

Just for a moment,
I forgot it all, the morning
Couch. The illusion. You.

The numbing stopped, and
The itching started.
That’s when I remembered
You, more than a torpor.

The redness swells
Because my heart still
Beats where the toxin
Spreads deeper in me.

Here I am beating ants
With a shovel, and you’re
Aiming for my heart. Best
Yet, you’re not even trying.