Owing to the strange algorithm of my Instagram, I now know
That the Surinam toad would lay eggs on its back and then grow skin over it.
When the eggs hatch, it traps its children within the flesh.
The mother won’t allow them to leave even as tadpoles.
The only way to emerge is to punch their way out.
I keep wondering about the ones that don’t want to hurt their mother.
Do they survive or suffocate?
Sometimes I think my mother forgets which species she belongs to.
I understand the confusion
Considering how often I get under her skin.
I don’t. I just live there.
Sometimes I think, she forgets
Growing up doesn’t have to be so violent.
