child's play

cinderella, dressed in yella
________stairs to kixss her fella
_____up
went
made a M!$7@kE, kissed a snake~
how many )=[|doctors|}-- did it take?


[::[one]::]
for every heart you shattered
so effortlessly,
my own shards mingling anonymously
in the jagged-edge pile


=##|two|##=
for the stitches
and the sutures you gave--
a souvenir
of everything gone wrong


]>~~three~~O
for the stethoscope
that listened to the hollow rushing
of septic blood as it flooded
backwards over my tonuge


[|__four__|
for the prescription bottles
that keep me company
late at night to
chase away your memory


(__]five[__)
for the residue
of you ringing in my ears,
inescapable if it weren't
for time-released safety


[::]_six_[::]~~
for the telephone
in the corner
that i'm afraid to answer
though it rarely rings


$$))__seven__>
for the therapist's pencil
scritch-scratching
across the paper in unsympathy,
recording my/your failures


""]}---eight----
for each needle
that never pierced a vein
in the same violent way
you infected my everything


[/ / / /nine/ / / />
for each pin, screw
and one night stand
i used in vain to
hold myself together


____ten____
for the flatline
and the stillness of my heart
with every breath i draw
into this chasmchest