My emotions get the better of me…
Locking me inside myself, my mind starts
to turn on its thoughts like an imprisoned
innocent who’s done no wrong but suffers
despite themselves. This is the way I bleed.

Like dragons’ flames, the blood burns against my
skull. Its pressure boils inside my gut where
I’ll never reach to wash away the stain.
I writhe in bed. I writhe on the couch. I
try taking a walk, but my body won’t

move. It refuses to listen to my
scorched thoughts. I’m hollow on the inside, still
trying to become something I’m not, a
vessel of peace, a being like Buddha,
someone who’s worthy of emulation.