Loving you is
Shading a tattoo
Needles piercing already-open flesh
Inking your presence onto me
Permanent
Vulnerable
Covering it with a bandage
So no one can see
The blood seep out

I want to give you the power to hurt me
And trust that you won’t

But as the needles pierce my flesh again and again
I’m unsure if I still have skin
Or if you peeled it away with the rest of me

I miss you today