taste.

jealousy tastes like bile

licks at your insides, leaving blisters in its wake

makes its way up your throat, oozes past the crease of your lips
down your chin
slips past your pulse point, splashing over the curve of your clavicle

drips hot and sticky on your chest

full circle, seeping slow into your heart
something pure soiled so easily

fleeting glances

the world doesn't end all at once.

understating the tangled mess
downplaying what you don't understand

prodding won't unravel knotted threads

perhaps it will leave you alone if you don't bother
more scared of you than you are of it

watching nervously on the sidelines
shifting weight from one foot to another

as an unruly dog becomes an untamed wolf

spit froths and mixes with your rotting soul
disdain seeping from pores

vulgarity cannot cage a lion

backpedal quickly, hastily searching for the chance to stop
step on and grind it into the dirt
before it can regain its size

denial tastes bitter the second time around