I
[After surgery]

Your new skin is a flat, white stone washed up into the arms of the shore

you'll need to become the rough shoulder of the sea

and wash over it

rise and fall

over and over

rise and fall

until the seams split

until eventually it slips back in place over your bones

and folds once again over the two empty caves of your eyes

until it wraps around the base of your skull

and begins to sponge up your mind

which has been elsewhere

seeped out and spread

as an unbound ocean

through the dark void of anesthesia

until you once again become small and unbroken

II
[Upon waking]

The entirety of your mind is contained within the few ounces

of ice chips in the Styrofoam cup on the tray

next to your hospital bed

you'll have to crush the ice with your teeth

let it melt over your tongue

let it seep back down your throat

over and over again

until you feel yourself

climbing up

and into

climbing up

and just beneath

the surface of your eyes

wide and clear

through this final surrender

wide and clear

through this

long and drifting

homecoming