my body

From time to time

I think I might

pluck off every hair from my body —

temple to ear, ear to hip, hip to ankle —

undo the skin from around my jaw and navel

peel it back and off

to spread it out lengthwise

line up my organs end to end

'cross my eyes

unstring my muscles and tendons from the frame —

that ties it and gives it shape —

step by step drop bones long - ways,

just to see what's all there

and how far it reaches.

Because this body, it feels at once

flayed open for the world

but closed up — selfish — for no one.

My fingers are mine, don't try to take them.