Compression Syndrome

 

my ribs

pierced my insides

as my heart pressed

against my chest

the space around it

was too small

for how large

it needed to become

to love them and me wholly

as they and I

broke

 

to hemorrhage into

my own body

as to not inconvenience another

to love me

more than they wished

 

and so my blood pooled

scarring over

inscribing on me

marks

I did not deserve

marks

that burned

as I gritted my teeth

and tattooed over them

trying to make meaning

of my pain

and return ownership

of myself

to myself