China skin Ivory, Blushing delicate rose at the apple of my cheeks Late nights and an excess of alcohol gone Leaving a porcelain mask Freckles, normally multiplying exponentially in the summer Frozen in an eternal spring, not yet brought out by sun Not yet spread in continents across my face Hair, glossy and spilling into curls down my back Tendrils resting waist-length Flesh cool to touch, Not marred or marked or scarred Pulse stilled under my pale, pale neck Close the casket, and I am preserved In a 7 by 2 world unchanged by time With a finality that will outlive any legacy I left behind