It is the subtle
Clang of your doubt
That rings relentlessly in my ear
Shouting silently
As I unpack your weight into
Small biteable pieces

I look for the smile
I left tucked away behind my teeth
Pushing it out to make this unpacking
Seamless, painless,

You smile too,
Undeservingly so,
Your teeth like claws dragging my eyes from your eyes
To the suitcase of your mess
My broken pieces
Laying dumbfounded in your hands

So unrecognizable,
I use what’s left of my heart to feel the pieces that I still call me
Pieces you couldn’t have reshaped
no matter how hard your blow
The sharp two-edged sword of your tongue
Can only reach me when I am near

You take the part of me too black to take back
And I take the part of you, you never gave
Each of us stealing
An allusion of who we were
The smile still etched on our faces
And the suitcase a little less full