Life Is More

Someone once told me that life is more
than eating, fucking, and sleeping.
Foolishly, I failed to ask for proof.
But now, having held death
and smelled death a time or two,
I know the truth.
Life is nothing more
than eating, fucking, and sleeping
from the first breath to the last;
beyond that
is beyond that
that we can grasp.

For Izy's prompt at Real Toads

Corpse Flower

Alone.

I haven't slept alone in over a decade
except for naps, and naps
don't count.  Even napping,
my body doubts,

behaves,
stays in its space,
and wastes
empty acres of bed.

Head aligned with my spine,
arms tight at my sides,
I lie
stiff

and still as a corpse
in a drawer
at the morgue -

all bones and bud tight skin.
A flower
that won't bloom again

until it's alone.

Submitting this to Real Toads and hoping that Magaly will forgive me for stretching the prompt!

Damage

Her back
is smooth and straight
unblemished by the weight
of 20,000 settings of the sun.
Her hands
are soft and clean
uncalloused by the mean
work of scraping by
to be someone.

Beautiful and young.
She's not yet the damage that she's done.

She puts her hand in mine,
and I wrap her in the life lines lived
and left unforgiven.
She sees wisdom in my wear,
a sage that I'm not sure is there,
but for her I'll take care to keep pretending.

So beautiful and young.
She can't know the damage that I've done.

For The Tuesday Platform at Real Toads

Pink Sheer Curtains

The sun
crossed the sea
just to paint
you, I think
with light
through my pink
sheer curtains.

The earth
turned just so
and held
to hold.
She was bereft
to let go
I'm certain

of you
through my sheer
pink curtains.

For Grace's prompt at Real Toads

Whole

Daughter,
my wish for you
is that you be whole.
Not just a hole
to be filled by some dullard's dick,
dumb ideas, or distressing
lack of imagination.
Not in a hole
shoveled by your sex;
a six feet under start.
Whole.
From your cells to your stars
whole.
Holy.
You.

integrity - the state of being whole, entire, or undiminished

For Ella's prompt at Real Toads