nyucatherine

leave me

to curl up in a ball
light a candle on my chest
be there left for dead
burn the wood hovering over me
breathe in dead air
curl up and surrender
make myself mad
make me bad
make me nothing
curl me up till i can fit
on the tip of your pinky
put me in your shirt pocket
suffocate me with lint
place me on your thumbnail
and look me eye to eye
laugh and knock me down
with your breath –
so hot it suffocates
so cold it freezes
just drop me on the ground
leave me in a tomb
kill me
rape me
brutalize me
but then –
leave me
leave me
leave me broken on the ground
limp and clothed in rags
weak atrophied ready to die
until

an angel picks me up
cradles me in his palm
i’m so small he doesn’t believe
he cradles me
rocks me
comforts me after the fall
his honest seas of eyes
his soft hair
everything about him reminds me of Christmas
he does everything with gentleness
butterfly kisses
sweet air surrounds me
makes me float
carries me
helps me
and never lets me go