Metamorphosis

Lungs clench, lining torn and scarred, 

Brittle as bark, worm-eaten and decayed, 

Like a corpse left to be ravaged, 

On the barren Alaskan tundra. 

Veins pulse, a shattered network, 

Bruised and tangled, like frayed strings, 

Of a marionette doll, 

Forced to face a ceaseless charade. 

Nerves spasm, signals crossed and dying, 

Fading in the absence of light, 

Lost in the void of their own universe, 

Like a corpse frozen in space. 

Joints throb, ligaments eroding, 

Flesh tearing away bit by bit, 

Like a disease-ravaged fruit, 

Its core squirming with maggots.

Eyes twitching, as clarity vanishes, 

Color bleeding from the cracks, 

Bloodshot and battered 

By the cruelty of light. 

Nail bed turns blue, numbness penetrating, 

The delicate shell of calcium, 

Devoid of life, bloodless, 

As it crumbles like a tower of barren ash. 

Heart ceases, a calloused shell, 

Cradling what is left, buried beneath, 

The weight of grief, mourning for what has been, 

And what will never be again.