i lay
ensconced in ice
as fire rages
contradictory
in agonies
the sickness
unaware of starvation
incites dry heaves
a maelstrom of
nauseated discomfort
desperately trying
to purge what
isn’t inside of me
at the behest of
this illness
leaving muscles
cramping in the
fevered grip of
frozen shudders
shallow breaths
trying not to move
freezing to death
in a magmatic embrace
yearning to eat
so there is something
to vomit to calm
the ravaging virus
incapable of flight
this flu simulating
an airplane crash
over twenty four hours
of slow motion masochism