Thick skin and brittle bones, we snap away at each other with wired gums and teeth, stolen from the alligators whose skin you ripped from their skeletons to make my clothes. Puppet masters sow in thicker skin but you scream out so they sow your mouth shut. The bell signals the end of another round, you've won. (It doesn't feel like winning.) Stitches need replacing but they never come. Good, you think, and you run.
Celebrity Skin 2023
July didn't even say goodbye.
The years don't kiss you goodnight anymore. They just leave behind this empty space, a phantom pain.
And still I ache, I ache, I ache!Journal, August 1st.