The Skin of Love

you say you love me

you say you love me
with every inch of your bare skin
you say you love me
with the entirety of your essence
you say you love me
with the whole of your being

and i believe you


but
what about the man you loved last
what about the man you loved before the last
what about the man you loved before him
what about all the men you loved

didn't you love them all
with the whole of you
and yet
every time another love story died
you wept at the funeral
and as time would have it
you put together every broken piece back together
and there you stood
as whole as ever

can cellotapes heal broken mirrors

what are we but remnants
from the last broken pieces
what are we but skeletons
seeking hidden corners of living closets
what are we but ghosts
sleeping to the ghouls of a recent bygone


love fits right in paperback
the skin knows nothing but the skin