Why is it that when small things are enlarged
like fleas
they look like monsters
that monsters would be afraid of?
I’d feel better about the one thousand bacteria
on every square inch of my lungs
if they each looked like
pencil sharpeners
or ducks.
But the tinier the microbe
the bigger the fang
those side-eyes staring blankly
ragged hairy back
black mouth
eating
you.
If I was a scientist
dying
I’d put out a press release
that viruses are shaped like rainbows
and the mouths of dust mites
look like Dolly Parton’s mouth
singing
her heart out.