anything you can do,

By doll on the rag


[i]
[hate]
[long]
[goodbyes]





your hands were cold
last night in bed

and your voice hurt to hear
so i asked you not to talk



but i pushed the scalpel
across the pillows just the same

then anesthetized myself with amber
and bared my childish breast



your mouth looked so unsteady
with the blade between your fingers

a minute reflection trembling
to the uncertainty of our breathing



yet the burning scent of freedom
calmed the storm in your wrists

and a night of peaceful sleep
lured away the straggling doubts




[and]
[you]
[began]
[slowly]




with feather-fine incisions
you perforated my outsides

i heard teeth cracking as i bit
into a bullet carved from your bone



your breath was damp against me
and burned like tiny pricks of starlight

sweat beaded charmingly on your brow
and i knew i'd be your finest work



so i waited among the sterile sheets
of what was once our love wraught in flesh

the quiet warmth of the matress
like a foreign face to my hands



but every second resounded
with a jagged-edged forgetfulness

and i couldn't see the masterpiece
waiting beneath your million papercuts






[i]
[stole]
[the]
[blade]





cursed your tender attentions
with the fire-bite from my fist

a hideous squelching agony
in the relentless way i carved



too impatient for your methodical love
and reluctant to wait out the healing

i thought it best to sever harshly
and bleed out whatever infection may come



i'll take pride in the slanted scar
with its pale and waxy skin

and i'll hang your bullet from my throat
as a souvenir of my self-mutliation days



you can take my heart with you
for a pulsing and wet reminder

anything you can do



[i can do better]









Unauthorized Copying Is Prohibited. Ask the author first.
© 2005 doll on the rag
Published on Thursday, November 17, 2005.     Filed under: "Poetry"
Log In or Join (free) to see the special features here.

Comments on "anything you can do,"

Log in to post comments.
  • A former member wrote: Damn! Absolultely love this! Such splendind images it brought to my mind, excellent excellent excellent write.

  • Dreaming in Stanzas On Friday, January 17, 2014, Dreaming in Stanzas (303)By person wrote:

    Sometimes you find a piece of poetry that just leaves you at a loss for words, this is one of them...I bow to your poetic prowess.

  • italianbella On Thursday, December 27, 2007, italianbella (185)By person wrote:

    breathtaking and flawless..amazing write:)

  • A former member wrote: this is astounding. i gotta fave. i can't say anything else but that. ~bethany

  • Lynaes On Thursday, November 24, 2005, Lynaes (859)By person wrote:

    I agree with paperflowers.. "chilling" and "haunting" are two perfect descriptions for this piece.. so are "masterful" and "artistic" You write so close to the bone, and I love it.

  • doll on the rag On Thursday, November 24, 2005, doll on the rag (200)By person wrote:

    ah, thank you sweet... just know it's your bones i'm writing for.

  • A former member wrote: I hate you because I will NEVER be able to write like this, and I hate you because I can't quite ever understand every bit of what you are saying even though I get the overall feeling, and I hate you because I love you = ) ~Lost~

  • A former member wrote: this is sucking the marrow from my meager bones. . its absolutely stilling....amen

Contribution Level

doll on the rag's Favorite Poets
doll on the rag's Favorite Works
Share/Save This Post



Join DarkPoetry Join to get a profile like this for yourself. It's quick and free.

How to Criticize Without Causing Offense
© 1998-2024 DarkPoetry LLC
Donate
[Join (free)]    [More Poetry]    [Get Help]    [Our Poets]    [Read Poems]    [Terms & Privacy]