Colony
In an inner-city block,
a woman is flopped on the bed
of a third-floor tenement,
smeared with blood
around the lips, the throat,
drawing insects
from within the walls,
shiny black and brown creatures
that squeeze through silent lips,
or drop into ear canals.
Elsewhere, the building is alive:
staircase trampled by never-ending feet,
room above, a cacophony
of arguments and chair scrapes,
apartment below,
an interminable coughing fit,
outside, traffic noise
and people going places.
The world is no longer her business.
The tiny creatures that cling to her skin
have more provenance than she.
Whoever finds the body
uncovers a colony.
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