dared
to ink a voice,
dived
into echoes
of a mirage,
willingly,
delusional.

blue devils'
summoning
watchful censorship.

despondency?
no. the relief
of exiting myself.

They told me to open up,

So I ripped my heart out

and sewed it to my sleeve
,
Only to be told that

it was ugly.

I rearranged the valves and the arteries;

Changed its beat,

Until someone told me it was beautiful 
and stole it from me.

I searched for years at every street corner,

In every alley way and 
‘I love you,’

But I couldn’t recognize it. 

I met a man

Prepared to exchange my heart for his,
 but I had none to give.

I stumbled across it one day,
 alone and sitting in a gutter.

It was bare, cheated, broken—

It felt right at home.

I SHOULD NOT
FEEL GUILTY
FOR SNAPPING
TWIGS
WITH HESITATION
WHILE YOU
CRUSH BONES
WITH EASE