subtext

• •

dissect each moment in memory

to eviscerate

all that could have been

and all that there was

each day since birth’s cry


to worry the wound

probing the center

as a bee a rose

deeper then deeper


to pin the skin back

exposing the flesh

as if broken dreams

to prurient eyes


to recoil in fear

until a last breath

rises from dry lips

as a final kiss

(September8, 2022)