he sits alone
in flickering candlelight
carving
every name
he has known
into the soft pink flesh
with a cheap
pocket knife

across his ribs
his chest
his arms
his legs
red angry letters
spelled out
poet
father
failure
dreamer
lover
loser
liar

every
drop of blood
every
tear shed
added
to the anguish
yet still
he carved
away

seeking definition
in the slow spiral
of pain