Ode to the Small Self

My veins are a highway,

funneling important cargo

nestled in little red cars.

They follow the lead

of their hive queen,

and gather oxygen

at the town square,

with every second I draw breath.

I am reminded of an animal

in the mirror, in my eyes,

drink the memory of thinking

the coral reef was a thousand worlds away,

and I forget

that I am just as much a colony

as the reef.