the case study of hanahaki disease

Hanahaki Disease (花吐き病 (Japanese)) is a fictional disease in which the victim coughs up flower petals when they suffer from one-sided love.

somehow, my flowers ended up

in your room...

i stop, take it in, and

my breath catches, and

my legs lock up

and then:

fog coats my throat

and clogs my lungs

in one inhale

and suddenly plants sprout

from nothing in the damp air

cling to my bronchi,

snake their way into my alveoli

exhale...my chest stings

just a little and

roots continue to creep

through tissue and split cells

inhale another wave 

of thick air and

my chest grows cold and

now stems shoot up and

occupy the empty space

in my trachea that

my voice refuses to fill

exhale again and vines

wrap around my rib cage

and all i can do is

absently rub at the bone 

of my sternum

i do not know what is coming

hurts a little more now

and i'll choke as leaves

fill my mouth and nose

and the numbing chill

sinks into the skin of

my neck and shoulders and lips

thorns stab the flesh of 

my tongue and tear the

skin of my cheeks and

grind against the bone of

my teeth and jaw and so

i cough from the strain,

and the blood that fills

my mouth also stains red

the petals that fall

slowly onto my palms

sink to the floor and

vomit flowers and the fog

fills my brain, my bloodstream

because in two and a half

breaths this unrequited love

has choked me to my

hands and knees

i've realized too late now

that detangling myself has

become impossible, and so

in some sick twist of cruel irony

somehow my flowers end up 

in your room, again