Skinned
Inferno of liberation,
how I love your pain
and your siren call
to that which lies
beyond the veil,
beyond this plane.
Rippling throughout
my body, setting me
ablaze with agony.
Freeing my spirit
from my cocoon;
my cage of comfort.
They told me there
was only God to
cry to now, but
what is there to
cry about? All I
do is thank him.
Through the fireless
blaze, I am more
than what has been
stripped away. My
musculature borne
freely observable.
Countless tears fall
like meteors. The
sad ones are not
mine. Nor are the
happy ones, though
I wish they were.
My burdens are all
flayed, peeled like
a banana. Discarded
like an apple skin.
I am all that is
left. I am whole.
Crimson encircles
me now. There are
angry calls, but
I pay them no heed.
I look on to the
one before me.
The face I see is
contorted, writhing
in the agony of
fear and loss.
Smiling, I gaze
upon the trembling.
I’ve been smiling
all along. I can
do nothing else.
My lips lie below,
trampled under
foot. My own feet.
What words do come
out of this mouth,
with face revoked
and teeth gleaning
naked in the hot,
sweltering summer sun?
I purse my mouth
before I remember
I can’t, and through
all the pain and
humiliation, a groan
emerges from my chest.
“It will be okay.”
And the face before
me wells with tears.
But I am not there
by then. I am on the
ground and everywhere.