Pale face Holes for eyes Black teeth Grin at the sky The trees grow long Time stills Recognition hits I wash ashore A corpse dressed for A prolonged funeral The rest of my life The shadows with teeth Close in behind I’m both alive and dead The wound never healed I was murdered over time Drained Trauma is a knife It cuts to the other side More than flesh It takes more than life I live in limbo The shadows are my home Even as they chase me And nibble on my bones I live in flames They eat my skin Expose my insides As I burn away I walk among the living A specter in the night Monochrome ghost Haunting the light It’s quiet Among the trees The forest Settles around me I’m not alone Something’s out there It hears me breath Holes for eyes Rotting teeth It’s face emerges Identical to mine I flee from the nightmare The corpse at my heels I’m not ready to face it I’m not ready to heal Its hands close around me Around my throat I’m driven to the ground By the weight on my back I close my eyes Against the terror I feel It’s fingers pierce me Dissecting my flesh But I feel no pain Only relief The pressure subsides And I begin to weep I hold the corpse tight To my chest Tears blind me But I know what I’ll see The harm that’s done Will never leave But it’s not a corpse It’s a thing of beauty How long will I go Lost in these woods Divided in two Half a human I push through Until I’m whole I get to my feet And start for home The pain in my chest Will never fade But I’ll carry it with me Until my dying day