All of my firsts,
all of my beautiful memories,
my sacred bonds
have been cracked open,
tainted,
the ties have been cut,
I am drifting,
floating off,
I have no anchor to drop.
I have given away
everything I can, and
there is nothing left of me
to offer but
salt water pouring from
my heart, trying to nourish
this thicket weaving through
my rib cage.
My collar bones are
shelves holding books and
love songs that I
can no longer listen to.
My knees are rubbed raw,
carpet burn from kneeling
before a God that only
called me a sinner,
I have nothing left to offer.
Palms facing upwards on
the ends of outstretched arms,
I have given away all
that I can,
I have siphoned the very
blood from my veins,
I am empty.

****** is not *******,
skin is not something to hide.
You are not a body with a soul,
rather a soul with a body
that you needn't be ashamed to show.
Feel the sun on your chest
and the grass between your toes
and breathe in contentment
as the wind writes poetry on your body
with it's gentle, kind mouth.
Do not be offended by human anatomy,
an elegant miracle held bare in its glory.