At one point

          my parents must’ve looked me in the eye

                              and told me that even though

                              I am the best of both of them

                                                               even      though

                                                                 my life        had to sift through centuries

                                                                       of magic

                                                                             science

                                                                             hate

                                                            and thrust itself           from tranquil ether

                                                              into the cold

                                                              naked threshold of zero

                                                                       in an Applebee’s bathroom

                                                                            where

                                                                            against all odds

                                                                            my cells       persisted

                                                                            and        let        me         leech

                                                                            just enough

                                                                            to be evicted

                                                                            culminating

                                                            in a final trick

                                                              where I convinced my host

                                                              to keep and feed me

                                                              that ultimately

                                                              I was still too weak