Hanahaki Disease

• Rachael Pemberton, Grade 10
• Poetry
• 2017

Short breaths, constricting vines
My love for you can't be denied.
The disease it grows, buds slowly forming,
Feelings inside are festering, storming.
The flowers, they bloom, leaves are guided
From these symptoms, I know it's one sided.

As I am dying, lungs full of petals,
My throat is cut deep from stinging nettles.
You didn't notice, you didn't care,
Wanting no part in the bloody affair.
Coughing up flowers and gore,
My stupid love stain the floor.