It’s the fear of death that hobbles me
And breaks me in two
It’s these words RAGING inside of me
They have to come out
They have to be free
I cannot die
I CANNOT DIE
Not until I’ve purged all these words
From underneath my skin
From my stomach, my kidneys, my uterus
From the very follicles of my hair
I cannot die
I CANNOT DIE
Not until I’ve screamed them
From the rooftops
Not until I whisper them to the dead
Not until every word inside of me
Is RAGING inside of you
Crawling in through your eyes and ears
My words will infect you
My rage will infect you
I cannot die
I CANNOT DIE
until this infection has spread
So far that no one will forget my name
So far that no one will doubt why I came
I cannot die
I CANNOT DIE
not without spreading my disease
My disease of words
That is less like a gift
And more like a curse
Please don’t let me die
Don’t
Let
Me
Die
3/9/9
©Patti Keno
Invisible No More 
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