09.02

you said, my boy pretend as if I'm not about to die
pretend we have a year to talk instead of just a night
I need you to remember every scar upon my skin
and trace the edge the knife has made that travels cheek to chin

if you pretend I'll talk to you about what happens next
the twenty years you'll spend with me alive inside your chest
I'll teach you all the stories that have marked me through the years
and tell you all you'll tell me when you need me to appear

so place your hand upon my neck and whisper with me now:
"this mark is for the damage done when tied around the bow"
and touch my back where ten lines draw a dizzy figurine
"these lines appeased the cravings of the Dorcey libertine"

upon my thigh the welt that curves from cleft to lower back
"this welt was from the acid spilt while split upon the rack"
and see this tear beneath the eye that looks about to close
"the eye was torn for willfully ignoring Godwin's rose"

repeat these words to keep me safe and hold me close at hand
and find the body that I have when next upon this land
we'll see each other once again and if you say my name
I'll see this day as clearly as a moth can see the flame