On the Origins of Death
Cell.
Ce ll
Cell. Cell.
And so on until the unknown
turns into a complete deuterostome,
until your midbrain forebrain hindbrain
meld together to create a aching pain
for your mother and she wonders
Worriedly
If pregnancy is supposed to hurt
And she hesitantly clicks, "Search"
And the answers overwhelm her and she
starts to fear your birth.
But fear is only human and she's a tough woman
So Mom goes to the club
for just one night
and drinks herself into ruin.
God, child bearing is stressful.
Cell.
Cellcellcellcellcellcelcelcelcelcecececcccccccc
Kick. It kicked.
You're a slimy bodybag with a heartbeat now
Your weight is putting her under duress now
Her back is sore and she's bloated more
This stupid baby's turned me into a mess now.
Nightly escapades cross over an easily traversable bridge
Until once a month becomes once a week becomes every other day
Yeah, mom, I'm okay, it's okay.
Third trimester and daydrinking gives way to twilight smoking
God, this thing hurts so bad but this cigarette hurts so good.
cellcell
cellcell
cellcel
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cellcellcellcellcellcellcellcell
cellcell
cellcell
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It's... it's not supposed to look like that. Is it?
You're finally out of your prison,
but you can't tell by your vision.
You can tell you're free because your head is clear of the toxins you've lived in.
Well.
You can't tell anything.
Vocal cord damage, arrhythmia, apnea.
Will it...he, be fine?
Not sure, but he's running out of time. We'll let you know, ma'am, by the end of the night.
That was a long journey, from inception to conception
and every part of it was a part
you both detested.
Now you're free of her
and she of you
So many minutes with her,
but really, so few.