they take their
rusty blades
to hack hack hack away
at me
seeking the secret
to my hollow rings
whenever my mind
is otherwise
elsewhere
surgical precision
of a million
palm fronds
dancing
in hurricane force winds
carving intuition
from virgin flesh
leaving vast
fleshy partitions
to strut my nightshigers
like a skinned cat
in a salt flat
discontinuation

when i told you
i was broken
you smiled
licking blood
from one of the papercuts
your stare
inflicted
when i begged
you for more
i could only watch
as you sauntered
calmly away

so if you
ask me
which one of
a thousand
shades of your
disapproval
is my favorite
i say the one
where i scream
i love you into
your dispassionate
surrender

if you asked me
to explain myself
i can only stand
awkwardly
as the tetanus
seizes my jaw
so i cannot yell
as you look deep
inside my soul
to count my rings