a poem by Christina Hoag
codependent's lament
born skin peeling you have
never stopped shedding
now you strip layers
off mei see you pockmarked
with scars running
deeper than flesh
if only i could burrow
in you
to soothe ragged edges
from within
if only i were able
to remove
just a handful
of the blemishes
in your marred historyinstead all
i
can do is
enlace you in my hands
mother you smother you
kiss the tight shiny silkof your foreheadyou feel the insult
of my caring
but swallow your
imprisoned pridethen you come
to crave the attention
expect it
you wrap my hair around your fist
tighter
and tighter
until
i unravel