Penicillin

In the vicious urge
to purify oneself,

it’s easy to discard
what you shouldn’t,

inoculate yourself
against the dark

that defines you,
not just the abyss

beneath your feet.
Disambiguation

is difficult, work
of a lifetime —

the more you do
the more you doubt

the very existence
of an end. Burning

away only the parts
of you that hurt

is impossible. It feels
on some ugly evenings

That you must choose
what to keep: yourself

or your sickness.