**Blood Beaches**
Scarlet leaks across my palm;
like water in the sand.
God, I hope you heal this pain in my heart,
before I put more pain into my hand.
The whistle of the knife-
is like a sweet lullaby.
It’s the personal reflection for which I strive;
it’s the scars that I hide.
Above my knee, on my arm,
across my lips,
a kiss of harm.
