your stomach is full of butterflies

no –

fish

fishes

multiple species of fish

bright ones

that glow and burn

dark ones

that tear and thrash

small ones

that squirm through your intestines

large ones

that swell and stab –

your whole body

is being stretched

and torn

and scorched

all at once

your palms begin to morph

coral colonizing on your skin

the cynarina starts slow

a lump

and then the lump

like a tree

begins to expand outward

a new ring forming every time you blink

your arms morph, too

stylophora sprouts from your hair follicles

like fractals

new ones branching from old

infinitely increasing in height and width

as you lay motionless

your pores widen

your skin splits and falls away

exposing the inflamed sinews beneath

then, a burning sensation

as you are consumed by salt