my lungs are greedy
trained from years of singing and screaming
on stages and cliffs and tendon-strained silence
they expand past my ribs and out into the atmosphere
they are the filament-teeth of a whale sifting the words
of krill for consumption
krill who swim whether inside or outside
my diaphragm flexes and flares ready to pounce
I can’t always hear you but I find other ways
I can taste you as a snake tastes with vibrating guile
and flickers of interest
I'll breathe you in if you let me
convert your stilted stammers into silvered silences
scoop syllables from your cheeks like you store them
hoard them there for me
they’ll pass through my membranes flare in my blood
to excite cells filled with tired phrases and cut through
with commas escape to the sky the stars
if you can don’t dissipate
stay here due to my gasps
for identity my demanding inhalations
will only lessen your impact
Arden Hunter is an aroace agender writer, artist and performer. With an eclectic range of interests from the horrific to the whimsical, the theme tying all of their work together is an inexplicable and unconditional love for the ridiculous beast that is called 'human'. Find them on Twitter @hunterarden.