by Melenie Olmo
The theme of these poems is fictional diseases that are often found in literature. Each disease serves as metaphors for complicated human feelings. The first illness being Hanahaki Disease where unrequited love causes flowers to grow in the lungs. The second illness being Crimson Fever where overwhelming passion/obsession causes feverish blushing and a racing heart expressing a body caught between desire and fixation. The third illness being Soul Laceration Syndrome in which intense guilt manifests as scratches on the skin.
