filleted.

 


outside

the air is frozen  

misting
your steaming breath
 
lifted from slumber

placed down  
by your strong hands
 

the knife-sharp edge of a voice;


all hope
is drained  


between cold stone cobbles  


those tough white tendons  
which once tied together,


severed with manual force of twisted blade


all the wet organs  
slump to the floor


vacating the dry cavity,  
utterly


peel protective membranes  

expose interior surfaces  
 
never meant to be seen  

 
subcutaneous layers  
are sheaved away  
and stacked in slabs

 
loose limbs stripped


hung on hooks


a crumb of meat catches  
upon a warm cheek;


It's brushed away without a thought