Peel back the gauze,
the mesh-work,
the skein of your vast
improbable being.
I want to see
the spaces where your pain
is still fresh,
those wounds which
are still malleable.
I want to see you
before you’ve shriveled
into a scar,
into prisms of panic
and unfinished flesh.
–
An inchoate soup simmers
on a hearth of my own design.
Into the pot I press
your inconsolable words
and your tears vague as dew.
The only way to know a man
is to consume him, piecemeal,
without the ruse of sentiment.
There can be no secrets between us
only omissions and oversights.
mindlovemisery 
Beautiful: ‘I want to see you before you’ve shriveled into a scar’ and ‘the only way to know a man is to consume him, piecemeal’…
Thank you so much!
Hmmm. I think it’s the act of doing this, of exposing this, that makes us shrivel. If we don’t give words to our injuries, then they don’t exist. But I’m probably in the minority with that line of thinking. 😉
Good luck getting a man to say yes to these demands, though!
For me it has proven toxic to keep my feelings bottled inside. Sometimes I am not ready to deal with an issue (I don’t have the internal resources, external support, haven’t gotten far enough the healing process whatever). Sometimes I have no choice but to set the issue, whatever it might be, to the side (call it surviving, coasting, being preoccupied, being practical whatever). Eventually when I am ready, when things are going well the issue invariably resurfaces demanding some form of resolution. It happens in steps and stages though, I have learned I can’t fix it all at once and no amount of force or coercion is going to change that. This poem is tongue-cheek though. I do have a loving, supportive husband and he picks more at his metaphorical scabs than I do. He is the one who asks the really hard questions. We are both pretty intense in some ways but in others very relaxed. I am not entirely sure I responded appropriately to your comment, really long day!
does he have a brother?
I am afraid not but there are good guys out there =)
Good expressive poem with lots of imagery. 🙂
Thank you for your kindness Susan =)
“Prisms of panic”–I LOVE this, you’ve said it with most accurate perfection!
Thank you so much =)
From all those murky ingredients going into your cauldron, you’ve ladled out something wonderfully clear and appetising.
Oh wow thank Alexander for your wonderful comment!
Omissions and oversights after consuming piecemeal. Being intact still, I’m happy at home after reading this! Seriously well done with lots of emotion underneath the words.
Oh wow thank you so much for your kindness!