Work Text:
i cover up the sinking feeling in my gut with the gnawing sensation of hunger.
a deviously plain smile picks at my walls, for they see what i hide.
i’ve eaten, i bite out, knowing my tank runs on empty.
always under the searchlights even when their gaze wanders elsewhere.
i’ll wait to replenish, the summit hasn’t yet been reached.
alone in the largest herd, trampled over as all eyes look down.
i’m drowning in the drought, the biting air laps at my skin.
alas shrinking under the scrutiny of familiarity’s touch
i’ve learned the language of absence, until emptiness tastes like proof.
feeding one hunger to quiet the other, yet both grow louder in the silence.
a mouth choking on its own echo.
two leeches sharing the same ribcage.
i wait until i deserve to eat.
i wait until i deserve to be seen.
but how can the waiting feed both, when the plate stays empty?
and the hand remembers how to stop reaching