I do not push fear aside—
rather, I cradle it
and engulf myself with the tongues of fire and venom.
Time is not allowed to heal my wounds,
and new memories cannot bandage
the scars left on my body.

I am naked,
and clawing at my particles.
Atoms catapult through the room
breaking glass, breaking hearts.
Flesh diminishes,
and my soul is exposed.
I bask in its pale glow.

Another substance throws itself on my body.
The arms, perhaps claws,
turn me into a shapeless figure.
I feel naked.
I tug at the arms and wish to be
swallowed—hide my bare skin.

As I struggle, I gleam brighter
and the eyes stare.
Convulsing, twisting, and intermingled with these beams,
I am suffocated,
yet I still breathe.
New, unfamiliar, and raw.
Body at peace,
mind threatening mutiny.
I inhale hope,
and my atoms disperse.