the girl inside of me

the girl inside of me
takes a blade to her arms
carves neat precise incisions
wrist to elbow
wrist to elbow

let them call it self-mutilation
let them call it self-destruction
let them call it a cry
      for attention
let them call it crazy
let them call it dumb

but they would not tell me
how else to alleviate the bone-deep
ache of festering wounds
blisters born of vaporous frustration
      of molten rage
abscesses that swell the skin
pulsating with pus and
      disease

let them call it jazz
and let them play it wrong

one slash to release
two will bring relief



16^th – 17^th October 2006