An Alternative View From The Eyes of Many

by Erica Lampe

Through the bowl of eyes

I’ve come to see

Infected bones from underneath

My skin flaking off: layer by layer

To reveal

Flesh liquefying down my chest

Through the rot

Faint glimpses of a beat

Palpitations of stillness

—Maggots fall to my feet

Parasites in my sockets

Weaving in and out

Consuming my vision

‘til no site is found

A putrid aroma of sulfur and flesh

engulfs my perception

and leads me to death