“Can you imagine the world if
We we only saw souls
Not bodies?”
          - Unknown

Can you imagine the world if
I removed every piece of skin -
          from my arms to my legs,
          to the very edges of my face -
Peel them off one by one, until
All you can see is my flesh -
          my very innards contracting,
          muscles and bones moving
                    together.
A mechanism that cages beneath
The fibers and strands -
          a shadow-beast,
          a swirling pool of darkness.
          a dark, unfathomable monster.

Can you imagine the world if
We only saw souls and not bodies -
          if we only saw souls without
          the masks we call “bodies?”

Can you imagine the world if
Shadows and monsters treaded the earth -
          if from the other side of the pavement
          a decaying carcass walks your way?

Run, don’t walk, my dear,
          *run, don’t walk.