i am not whole.

my palms
have melted away. flesh
forever bonded to your burning skin.

my lips
are gone. i left them against yours;
they couldn’t bear to come away with me.

my elbows
can’t work. they are too crooked.
stuck around the shape of your shoulders,
an empty hollow only you could fill.

(and with each stroke of your fingers down my back my skin tore away like tissue paper clinging to your static touch so it would never fade away)

my hips
move awkwardly now. they lack
your hips and hands to steer them.
they are confused and broken.

my tongue
***** uselessly. scorched by your taste.
numb to every flavor.

my eyes
wheel pointlessly in their sockets
haunted by your laughing face.

(and when you locked your fingers between mine oh! my poor fingers! they snapped off just to stay a while)

here i am. the rest of me.
some old shredded pile of skin and black bone.
tears dripping silently in gaping pathetic mouth.

(i said “now don’t you let me leave” and you didn’t, you have me still)

i need my pieces back
(i need you)