if you could
please
forget all
about my
existence
scrub the creases
of your gray
matter until
i am no more than
an abrasion
a blur smearing
all of the things
i never was
into a slurry
toxins to be
flushed away
motes of itchy
souldander swirling
downdowndown the
dingy drain

let me be
the phantom
loving you
silently
a scar you run
your fingers down
when it rains
until the ache
of where i
once was is
no more than
a shiver down
the gentle curve
of your spine
as lightning arcs
lavender from
short-circuited
neuron arrays

i was never
truly here
just a discarded
paper mache mask
dissolving in
the tempest
the sensation
of my lips on
your soft flesh
a side effect of
prolonged exposure
to the bipolar
radiation pitting
delicately polished
ivory bone