when jealousy crawls beneath my skin

and causes my veins to vibrate with rage

i cannot help but let the tyrant overtake me.

it dives into my body

and wrenches my ribs

bashes my bones

and harasses my heart.

it torments my mind and tackles it with

thoughts of

i wish i wish i wish.

it paints my face green

and pulls my eyes open

when all i want to do

is look away forever.

it forms a volcano that erupts

from the pit of my stomach

and sends molten lava spilling

from my fingertips

scorching my scarred hopes

until they shatter into shards

that silently slice my soul.

it feasts off of my wounded flesh

devouring my self-esteem

until it becomes nothing

but a wrinkled memory.

it tears my world apart

until blood squirts out of the universe

like water from a sprinkler

crumpling it up

like a confiscated note

and burying it below the earth

like the corpse of the one it loved most.

it didn’t even have the chance to say goodbye.

with all i’ve ever had

closing in on me

faster than i can handle

i give up

and allow jealousy to swallow me whole.

with that

everything becomes nothing

before i even understand

why stars only come out

when there is darkness.