at last the boil has ruptured
after nearly a week
of marring my face
its furious redness
glowing like a siren
i’ve applied a pharmacy’s worth
of creams and serums
changing bandages
twice a day like a nurse
yet the inflammation persists
drawing from a deep well of vitriol
draining by night only to swell
into a turgid mass by day
governed by rhythms not my own
the healing only advances
when i stop smothering the wound
and start treating it from the inside
rest and hydration
soon work their magic
and the bump surrenders
sinking toward normalcy
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