The Bite in the Blood — A Song Inspired by Martha's Vineyard alpha-gal tick-bite meat allergy surge; cases rose sharply and residents adapt to hidden mammal ingredients, cross-contamination fear, EpiPens, and calls for mammal-free labels

[Verse 1]
I went walking where the scrub grass claws
summer heat in the cedar jaws
something small found a door in my skin
left no name where it crawled in

[Pre-Chorus]
Now the plate looks back like a warning sign
red on porcelain, old desire
my body learned a stranger's law
from a needle mouth I never saw

[Chorus]
There are tiny teeth in the blood tonight
turning hunger into siren light
I miss the ordinary flame
but the ordinary knows my name
tiny teeth, invisible chain
one little bite and the world tastes changed

[Verse 2]
The diner hums with a holy smell
grease in the air like a dinner bell
I ask three times what the oil has known
still drive home with my hands gone cold

[Pre-Chorus]
Every label has a shadow side
every kindness has a place to hide
I am not weak for checking the room
I am learning the shape of the bloom

[Chorus]
There are tiny teeth in the blood tonight
turning hunger into siren light
I miss the ordinary flame
but the ordinary knows my name
tiny teeth, invisible chain
one little bite and the world tastes changed

[Bridge]
Don't tell me fear is all I am
I still walk the dark with repellent on my hands
I still love the woods, I still face the green
I still belong to the living scene
If the old red door is closed to me
I'll build a table where I can breathe

[Final Chorus]
Tiny teeth in the blood tonight
small curse burning with a warning light
I won't bow to the hidden flame
I will answer to my name
tiny teeth, invisible chain
I walk out changed but I walk out again