outside | inside(a paradox)

is it a paradox (is it happy)
that when everything on the inside
falls apart into countless pieces
the outside holds them in
and together –
your skin, the cellophane tape that
swathes and preserves you;
and when everything on the outside
collapses and shatters
the inside will still be standing strong –
your dreams and hopes and desires,
the steel skeleton that sustains
and reinforces the edifice of you.



9^th – 10^th May 2006