There's a dragon

Living inside of my ribcage

It never sleeps, not even when I do

Even in my dreams, I hear those dreaded words like smoke signals

"She"

"Her"

"Hija"

"Princess"

"My baby girl."

I can feel the claws inside of me

Twisting and ripping through flesh and bone

Tearing my organs apart without breaking skin

I pretend that cutting my skin open will set it free

There's a dragon

Nestled in between my lungs

And it's unrelenting in its attacks

I'm blinded by the smoke

Pouring out of my mouth when I'm trying to cry out for help

My words come out muffled, frantic, far away

But I can't explain the burning

What it feels like to live with the fire under the surface of my skin

I'm coughing up ash and crying tear gas

There's a dragon pushing against my spine

It hurts, but my family ignore my pain

Pretending I never told them about the dragon in the first place

They blame my friends

Who have dragon infestations too

The ones who helped me tame the flames

I know there's a way to calm the dragon down

Water injections and surgery to remove where the dragon claws

But I'll never afford it

And my parents will never let me

There's a dragon

That can only be tamed with water

But instead of helping me afford it

My family hands me a tank of gasoline

Call me a freak and tell me I'm damaged for letting this dragon grow

And say, "put the fire out with this."

There's a dragon

That lives inside of my ribcage

It's always been a part of me

I've learned to live with the constant burning

Knowing maybe one day, I'll douse out the fire

But I'd rather burn alive

Than leave the people I love behind me

There's a dragon

And it has sprouted wings

It's becoming too big to fit inside my body

Blood comes out with ash

Soon enough, it will decimate my insides

And nobody will stop me from burning in the flames of my own making