Let’s Talk About Blood

Let’s talk about blood.
Not in the abstract—
not history, not lineage,
not even metaphor.

Specifically, yours.
The way it moves under the skin,
the way it hums in your neck
when you lean too close to the light.
The way it answers every question
before you can.

I need it to live.
That’s the simple truth,
though I try to soften it.
I say sustenance,
I say exchange,
I say this will only take a moment.

But it’s always more than a moment.
It’s always hunger asking to be excused,
again and again.

I want you to understand:
I don't take joy in this.
I don't savor it.
I only take what I must,
and you give what you must,
and between us
that is everything.

So—
let’s talk about blood.
And—

What.

A subscription model?
You’ve updated your terms and conditions?

…Install your app?

This is not how it works.
We had an arrangement—

Oh.
You’re gone.