SHE WHO SWALLOWS UP THE EARTH

There's a serpent in my belly
She who swallows up the earth
Her body wrapped around me
On my tongue, I taste the dirt

She's coiled up inside me
From my lungs, she steals each breath
She slithers through the open space
That once made up my chest

I'm deep inside the earth now
And I have no way up
I've become the earthworm
My blood has turned to rust

My chest has been torn open
And with all that I have left
I will fill the empty space
Again with my own breath

I'm high up in the air now
The weight sinks in my gut
Earth's debris is tearing free
I heave to bring it up

All that I did swallow
In time, began to rot
Reaching down inside my throat
I have to pull it up

My chest has been torn open
And dirt has turned to mud
I take in the deepest breath
That ever was took up

I'm so high in the air now
So high, I cannot see
Earth nor snake, just empty space
The weight, a memory.