maybe if I sit here for long enough

perfectly still, clicking through crossword clues and sale sections

the mold that has eaten through my cranial cavity will burst through my eardrums

and muffle the lecture that’s souring the air.

maybe if I’m lucky

it will germinate up through my windpipe

seal shut my trachea

smother me with a thick spongy pillow

vivify my chapped lips with a blue-hued bloom.