Sit down with your skeleton wrapped in red arms
and let me whisper                                   If I wanted to tell you
in your small ear—                                                 something
Statues cannot do you justice,                          I would say it
hear me as I sit on my                                           I am not
mahogany stool, tapping away at falsetto keys       in love with the secrets
searing my mind with visions of you                   that choke you each day
you you you                                                          like leather—
look
simply                                          I see your shadow in the red red candlelight,
just look
I snapped a lightbulb in a frame took
you in your dad’s old big padded hat
                                        (the heat of the metal fan,
look at you
                                      the winter’s black night)
the way your frostbitten cheeks must have
glowed glowed look                               you are so beautiful,
you walk                                         shattered on the floor and perfect                                      the way
a song                                                  look at you would you just—
moves (day after day after day)
you huddle in corners like you are something you have to hide like
look (day after day)
                                      I see the scratches on your arms,
                                        I see the dead plant in the corner it is
Marble face                           brown and crumbling like shredded paper—
empty hands                  you have such big big blue eyes like tears they hang in
(day after day)
look at you                                           midair—
please please please
(day after day day after day day after day)
my thoughts are messy—my words more so—my speech is full of stutters—I can’t control my fingers as they type and write and write—look at you I can’t stop looking at you I am terrifying myself
                                                            (day after day after day)
day after day after day I scare me and you scare me and

you                          she is lovely, she is pale and tiny and split in two,
                                   and lovely
you                                               look at you.
                                   day day after day day after
you are beautiful.                     (so so) day (so so so so so)
                                     day day after day
so so so                       (so so so so) after day after day (so so so)
                                             after day day after day
beautiful.
            beautiful.                            look at her look—
                         beautiful.