laid myself bare
take me, with mercy
do not destroy me!

I missed you before you left
As the stream of tears unveiled
With mist droplets falling delicately
One on each individual strand of hair
He came back for a taste of her
As she had consistently prayed
Whether to feel her and touch her
Will not be revealed
What he sought was not evident
I am your lover she proclaimed
Dare not you leave me
Slowly unveiling her bare skin  
He reached for her
Extending himself
The various parts of their bodies
Coalesced into one
They grew together forevermore

What little flesh I was
is now yours

it melted
into a muddled heap
on the floor
when you unwrapped me
in your arms
and threw me
bones and all
things I will hold
dear as a lost heart
forever

I pick the pieces up
when you've left
but they fit together
differently now
my ribs a cage
tightly strung together
my legs knock knock
a bit wobbly
my heart alone
pushes the emptiness
around and around

needing you
to pull me up
undo me
and hold me
all in the together

I don't feel so naked
any more
beneath my clothes
with only bare bones
to keep to myself
a beta heart beset with bugs
too erratic and hungry
to release
and the tingles I get
running down my spine
from the superglue
when we hug
squeeze squeeze
and I feel in my bones
your own

I talk in my sleep
Spilling secrets i cannot bare to keep
In the morning my lips are shut, while the rest of me comes undone
My thoughts overflow into my lungs, making it hard to breath
I do not do it because i want to
I do not have control
Though i feel i must appologize because i know your heart takes a toll

I want to flay my skin
Rid myself of all that is surface deep
Throw off my flesh like a coat
Feel raw pain as air hits nerve
See my endoskeleton of muscle and ligament
Heart pumping blood through artery and vein
I'd pluck it out still beating
And lay it on the butchers block
Alongside kidneys, liver, guts
An offal offering
Consume me my darling
'Til there's nothing left save bone.

You left me feeling bare naked even when I was clothed
The look you gave me
The instant connected feelings left me feeling halved when you looked away
It left me bare naked
And I felt the draft you left behind
The feeling was so strong it made me want to cover up everything
I could see he saw my whole story
And I saw his too
We left each other bare
We left each other chilled and afraid of being vulnerable
And we had only walked past each other on the subway

tarnished child
who the zoo
is not new
to

time, present, past and
future
are all
redeemable

and I ought to
have told you
before

it's not a heart
beating
but a drumming
from before that
sounds like

a record of
its own accord

30 years,
bare and white
baring, daring, breathing

Right now I can think only about the one thing
That is real to me:
A stuffed bear.
Its fuzzy feeling
Reminds me of the good friend that
Gave me this treasure.
Separate from reality,
This bear does not deal with
Mistakes others made.
It cannot change
Like a person does.
It smiles with curious eyes,
A ribbon tied about its neck,
Seemingly preventing its first breath.
Sometimes people need to be more like
Bear.
Open to the world,
Curious,
But relatively unchanged by the environment
And people
At the end of the day.

One time someone told me I was beautiful.
Who knew I could be beautiful?
I hope he never changes,
Like my bear.