traveling through breaths

(This poem is best viewed on a PC)

our ship is alive, flesh

corridors squelching under our feet

the low hum of a drum heartbeat

lulling us to sleep

we breathe in the oxygen

filtered through its bronchioles,

curve our rooms under its ribcage,

plant our gardens into the expanse

of its spinal column, fertilize them

with the oil from its liver

in between black holes

and exploring galaxies

               we changed

from parasite to cohabitants

we tasted the safety in coexistence

finding solace in mutual respect

               and as we break apart and eat

               the radioactive fungi from its mouth

               and clean debris from its fins

               and provide deep-needed scratches

               at the depths of its lungs

we accepted that peace rests

in all the ways we care

for each other