laying naked on the linoleum floor
a towel balled up under my head
agonizing tentacles inside my gut
twisting my innards into odd shapes
like a bunch of hairless pipe cleaners

when the pain becomes just right
i kneel over the toilet to pray
my life becomes less brutish
and more short.

thinking nothing – only hurt –
misery becomes my silhouette
cramping and aching and spasms
in my intestines harmonize
as I collapse again to the floor
hot and cold, shaking and wanting
all of this to end.