Just Like Mine

I want to bite into humanity like an apple-

hard, sudden, deliberate-

to crack the skin with my teeth

and let the juice of their vulnerability run down my chin.

I want to taste the pulp of their unspoken fears,

let the bitterness cling to the back of my tongue

like a confession too raw to swallow.

To chew on their grief until it splits beneath my molars-

regret sinewed into every string of flesh,

sorrow pooling in the hollows of my cheeks.

I want to gag on the sweetness, too.

The cloying sugar of their hope-

honeyed dreams that coat the roof of my mouth

until I choke on their optimism,

until joy slicks my throat like syrup

and I can’t tell if I’m starving

or being fed.

I want to spit the seeds back into the dirt-

let them root in the quiet rot of what I’ve consumed.

Maybe something holy will grow.

Or maybe just more mouths,

just like mine.