Soap Carving
I shed your fingerprints like molted feathers from my wings Glittering and rose-hued stands my soul Salted water flows free nevermore for want of you I reclaim my life and time To name you by some truth would be dishonest disservice To me you are a beast with many backs, with many names I shall call you many things, though not call you For all your appearances to me I am stronger I reclaim my life and time I shed your scent like leaves The heart dies a slow death but at last I can see Buried in the sand I have shed the ocean Unearthed the tombs of saints Excavated the paving stones of pathways I’ve not tread four years I reclaim my life and time You have never been inside of me Occupied the space between my heart and ribs You have never been inside of me I walk freely and unchained A tether to a man by choice An entity refusing to chain, but allowing enchainment A tether to myself and walking as I please I shed your memory like peeled skin after a week at the beach Chip away the stony embrace of age Dipped in solvent, stripped of wear I am new, I am clean I shimmer in the sun and more in the moon Venus, Cupid, or who you will The God of Self Loathing has no place here For the God of Self Love is his brother And the cycle breaks I reclaim my life and time Breathe in Breath out I reclaim my life and time Breathe in Breath out I shed your touch like wildflowers’ honey I strip the bark from the birch It drips from me, a drain in a sieve There is no call for bloodletting But I let it flow from me Heaviness to the Earth I am full I shed my skin, a snake in the wild I have forgotten you I shed the fat on my soul I reclaim my life and time