I used to trace
your face in every face
and yet could not place
your face at all

in my corporeal world
i used to find
pieces of you
entwined
in lyrics and in phrases

the once clear photograph
that turned mosaic was now
a fragmented work of art
and everyday rips you
further apart

then to meet the original article
to see you with sight
your voice auricular
your fingers tangible
in a fraction you converted
from the surreal to the somatic

you that breathed seemed exhausted
and every gulp of oxygen
seemed to rust your pipes
the ones you galvanized
in alcohol at night
knowing it would increase the rate
your organs would take to depreciate

your zestful pipes were drained of color
punctured perhaps by careless claws
or by your own negligence and flaws
you always loved to tease death
and now you seem to prompt it

"Life" was over
you were passed "Survival"
now it was "Endurance"
a step away from "Existence"

"you" that fueled my memories
has now decayed
so how is it that i still feel
a faint pulse
in that corner of my mind
you still occupy?