Envy

I have compared my food cupboard to yours
To remind me of my deprivation.

I have pierced my nose
With a geometry compass so I could

Insert a diamond stud
And infect my blood, just like you

Who collapsed admirably from septicaemia
That time you put a nail through your lip.

You received cards and jelly babies
From your mates, their hero.

How I wanted to be you
The kid who almost died at sixth form.

Now I have shared this flat with you
For three months (excluding one month

Intensive care in Knightstone ward )
And I am preparing a suitcase of porridge,

Cut neatly into bite size squares,
So I can be the only case of scurvy

In Weston-Super-Mare
And earn the nick name limey

From you and all your mates
Who doubted my resolve.