and i guess nerds gotta stick with dragons

i thought you were a butterfly
bursting with colors on delicate wings.
but you are really a maggot
on a magazine clipping
wriggling around and calling my name.
i bent to pick you up,
cradle you in my palms,
keep you safe.
but you burrowed into my skin
and ate away the morals of my bones.

i found a squirrel head once,
severed and lying beside my shoe,
the rest of its body devoured,
swallowed whole by an owl.
it was moving, ears twitching,
teeth chattering, and when i bent closer,
i saw a pile of maggots writhing inside.

see, the jackal killed the hyena
and the maggots resonated inside.
she only thought she was alive.

but oh, i guess scavengers gotta stick together.