letting things in

i think about all the bugs
i've swallowed
as i ride
my bike through the wooded
path.
across streams
bridges,
through the dark caves
of trees
thick and green.
it's too late to spit them out.
they're in.
they're down.
they're a part of me, for
better or worse.
such is life, and the words
that people
tell us.