Like it is nothing, my mouth moves to secede.
Breathe like a mountain caving in. Breathe
and pick apart my mirrored image,
the curve my teeth. Leave
behind my cracked ribs. Shut my eyes.
Leave behind my uneven breasts,
the knobs of my legs beyond the thighs,
the color of my lies in the toilet bowl.
I remember learning all the ways my body
was a death sentence. And it is.
In the morning, I pour last night’s coffee
into the sink. Drink another beer,
throw up clear water in the afternoon,
learn nothing. Nightly I am reborn, colder
in the same skin: the one
unholy thing I cannot let go.
Photo by Galaxies and Hurricanes
