i stretch myself before you
dark streaks of charcoal
fading into shadows of shaded nightmares
from long, long ago
when i was a child
i used to paint myself in indigo
body as a canvas
mind as a painter
walking into our dismal kitchen
my mom told me she could barely recognise me
and i
body as a canvas
mind as a painter
hands as a fighter
i agreed
bending myself
into bands of charcoal.