my body is full of squatters

immunity of mine, up & quit the job.
white blood cells sleep during their shift, and i       gnash 
at the strings of keratin atop my split scalp.

this is what i         get for being hospitable, for inviting the
party girl: the pretty girl, 
girl of my own name minus one N.
i           should have known she would want to stay,

line the floorboards with dime-bags, 
the walls with
aluminum: sweating garbage.

invite her pretty girl friends, 
trek in mud on dr. martens.

grow ‘shrooms in my eardrum & tongue,
yellow the paint, cough me up sour. 

maybe if i          am lucky she will leave.
rehab, she growls, in-patient. she apologizes for
the mess: the trash fumes,

hands me two hefty bags, snarls good luck.
and i can scrub this place out

brand-new.

Anna Sedlak is a emerging writer from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she is completing her B.S. in psychology and a minor in creative writing from the University of Pittsburgh. She serves as an Editor for the University of Pittsburgh's literary and research journal, Forbes & Fifth. She is a published poet, and her work has been featured in Live Poet Society of New Jersey and Collision. You can find her on Instagram @anna.isabella.