first shard
Sometime we will look back on this
And you will remember how you kissed
Every soiled scrap of me as you found it
And I will remember your warm lips
Meeting my chilled, rotted flesh.
We will both be lying
But I want this anyway.

second shard
Come back to me when I am whole.

third shard
Darling, when something falls to pieces it shatters
But before you think me glass
Remember I will never be translucent.

fourth shard
My soul is drifting in my own kingdom
In the banks where the sun goes to die
When stillness corrodes the earth,
I stand, waiting, arms outstretched
In the exact way that makes you want to let me go.

fifth shard
I am screaming through the hidden whites of eyes
And open mouths and hollow cheeks.

sixth shard
I don’t think you’ve ever considered
Something more was broken with me,
Unoriginal soul that you are.

seventh shard
It’s so cold here
And there are things crawling in the walls
Feeding on my blood, little creatures
With brown dog eyes and curled claws that once lived as hands
And you are one of them—
Come back.

eighth shard
We both knew I was never quite whole
even before.

ninth shard
If corpses can dream,
With their consciousness scattered,
Wandering in every way but physical,
You are in my mind, heart, and soul
Separately.

tenth shard
I am awaiting soft hands
Until you realize
Resurrection is an act only for yourself
And can’t put fingertip to flesh.

eleventh shard
You are no more torn apart than I am.

twelfth shard
Come back to me
When you have something within you
Not subject to the whimsy of a butcher knife
Because I’m sure someone far before me
Unraveled your organs.
Perfection is fragile by definition, darling
So come back to me
When you can look me in the eye to say
The chambers of your heart remain untouched.

thirteenth shard
Iris, darling, pick up the pieces.

fourteenth shard