I always told you I thought you were smarter than me
I had a hunch
A gut
Feeling
Even though I had ego maniacally labelled myself a genius in 2nd grade
I could tell you were smarter.

The bugs are eating my skin away
These days
Some days I don't care so much
Other days I sit in the bathroom examining myself under the harsh lights
Peeling back folds of skin
Until out crawls a scaly brown lice.

Today is one of those days I don't care as much,
I've stopped
Caring.
The lumpy patches on my skin don't bother me
I might walk around naked
For everyone to see
Me
And my rashy, flakey, bitten skin.

If you're especially talented
Skilled
You can flay someone for up to fifteen minutes (your fifteen minutes of fame)
Before they finally die.

I always told you I thought you were smarter than me
If you could just see the skin rolled off my arms
You'd agree.