she used a sewing needle
to tattoo stitches
up my spine
when she asked me if
I loved her I
pulled her
palm to my
blistered chest so she knew
the dull thuds
she's hearing are
not ticks of a
clock, they are
my heartbeat
making way for the
next time she wants
to use me like a napkin
I will help her get clean
every time
without fault
she can break my heart
as many times as she
pleases, so long as
she keeps
coming back to tattoo it together