may the taste of blood remind you
of the damage that you have caused.
of the trail of gleaming galaxies
peaking from under my skin.

casting me away does not hide
the havoc you have wreaked inside,
the house you tore down from the bone,
that we had built with our own hands.


you tear me down by my methods
but I am only trying to
salvage a life after knowing you.

may the taste of blood remind you
that you were the first one that drew.

if it would put you at ease,
I will strip myself down,
baptize myself in your sea,
by your hands I will drown.

if it would quiet your mind,
I’ll sew my own mouth closed.
actions grow louder with time,
hollow intentions disposed.

you are the air in my lungs,
the god to which I pray
the religion on my tongue
I return to each day.

save me from a life without you,
give me a love that will consume.

I saw her sunlit silhouette
laced in the whites of the morning.
her cigarette stained mouth escaped
with the memory of her kiss,
of the taste burned on my lips.
I have to remind myself that
she is real,  as absolute as
the air that crushes my chest,
as the words she left on my breath.

I plucked the blood soaked
molars from their bed,
witness the decay
growing in my head.
cavities collapse
on themselves, and yet,
I am here, standing.

scabs scratched under my
fingernails, scars made anew
stung by the sunlight,
I am on display for you.

take these shallow bones
and the hollow words,
carve my jaded eyes
and relieve this hurt
you caused when you touched.
you caused when you let
me love you this much.

grab my cheek for contrast
to contort and contrive
at your will, to fit the
porcelain mask you made
for me. to mold into
what you want me to be.
you could stain me red and
I still would not be the
right shade. I can’t compare
to these conditions you
made. I will never be
the right version of me
that was assigned by you.

Hold me to the light
and even just right
I will still fall short

I crushed the love that was holding me up
it fell through my fingers effortlessly.
I broke your spine, my dear,
and I’m afraid I cannot piece it together.

the bones of it hung in the wind
suspended in kaleidoscope expectations.
I wanted to see things that were simply
not there, grasping at the air.

desires disfiguring the innocent implications,
the shattered glass words cut my mouth.
and there they laid on the table before you,
mangled, mutilated yet beautifully clear.

I almost heard you reason to
prolong this painful charade,
and I almost could not stop
myself asking you to stay.

my mind is troubled by the emptiness,
having only the mess you left behind.
perfect the art of saving what is left,
trying push past the finish line.
I can never seem to burn away the inside
to clean all that you have touched,
erase the stains of your hands, believe me, I’ve tried.
the floods washed away this home,
left me alone with the words
hanging from the ceiling you broke.
I swear I was going to ask you to stay.
it was on my breath when you broke my chest.
wrap up these bones,
they’re no use to you.
splintered, shattered,
like a present.  

how can hate still spit from your lips?