stitching birds

in an effort to ease my anxieties

i sewed my eyes shut

no longer able to see

the sound of the world grew louder

begging me to listen

That day i took glue to my ears to

block out the noise but

still, it was not enough

the smell of burning filled my nostrils,

i lit incense and prayed and

plugged up my nose for good measure

then it came to me in a dream and

asked me to embrace it.

its pain travelled through my fingertips and

settled neatly in my chest

i woke up and placed my hands on

the stove top

allowing the heat to burn through my flesh

desperate to distract myself i

took myself apart and

buried my limbs in a box

yet the world still cried out to me—