this is me trying | poetry

hanahaki

did you know
of my affliction?
you must've thought          
this was a game                
you could play.                       

was it your hands
that reached into
my lungs and
planted these seeds?
they are growing now,           
sprouting so very swift.               

you have told me
you didn't believe
love could kill.
i tell you, i am expiring;   
lying in this pile
of my own blood,                     
i am seconds
away from demise.           

i wish i could tell you
i would die before
i became a thief.
but if you could
see me now, you
would know i have             
never wanted to
steal your heart more.              

darling, if you reached
your hand out now,
i would slay the monster              
crawling through my breaths.
quickly now—                          
before the flowers          
are all i ever know!               

if you came
to my side now,
i would hold you
as we watch
the petals wilt.