Eucestoda

i had a pet tape worm

his name was Johnholmes (yep one word)

on account of the fact

he was over fourteen inches long

from scolex to tail tip

he liked to get down and dirty

but he died.

against my best wishes

and thirty eight pages

of dodgy googled advice

he was determined to live a life

outside the intestine

and this proved

to be his undoing

i miss that slippery little colon gypsy

i feel his absence

in both my heart and gut

and to a lesser degree

also in my butt

he used to love making me

fidget and scratch my ring

i let him out in the shower now and then

and we’d have a little sing

his favourite food was undercooked pork

his favourite colour was green

we used to communicate telepathically

i think you know what i mean

i had a collar custom made

from a place i found online

it was really hard to find his neck

cause he didn’t have a spine

and now the rest of our journey

is mine to take alone

you were my mate you were my friend

and i was your only home

.

RIP Johnholmes