Hard Bitten
I bit the heart out
of my fruit pastille
and left its empty husk
decaying on my tongue.
Three weeks it remained there
just behind the tip.
Empty, heartless and hollow,
also causing difficulty in speaking.
Finally some harmless (to me) bacteria
found the pastille shell,
Made a home in its echoing heart
a mobile home like a sugary camper van.
With a primitive yet effective
bio-chemical process using sugar,
the bacteria made a small reaction drive
and drove the pastille out of my mouth
and out of my life.
(Where will they
find a home?
Those intrepid journeyers
into the unknown.)