Lignified Soul

You found me nearly hollowed out.
A bag of bones upon the ground
My soul retreats into my pith
But not before you catch a glimpse
My soul hides within my core
For the light it had, it has no more

Your fingers and eyes begin to comb
Through the mess of flesh
Incaged in bone
You looked me over and sat me up
Then opened up my cranium
Dumped out the mush you found inside
repaired my breaks with linen binds
Then laughed as love
Welled within my eyes

There was no doubt, you were sure
You had siphoned control, my will was yours
And in the shadows behind my eyes
You began to sculpt your plan
you cut away the bulk of my spine
Ensuring what was left, molded to your hand
With precision you built from metal and twine
A device made to replace what you took from inside
A system of tightly pulled strands

With rhythmic steps, your fingers would dance
Upon its lacquered wooden keys
bringing movement to each tethered braid
That now coiled around my neck like snakes
Any ability of my own to make
All were rendered seized
I felt the practice, your hands had seen
Felt the dexterity within your wrist
you cut away my vocal strings
And from under my flesh, you stole
the instrument so finely tuned
Relative to the echos sung by my soul

you plucked it from my being
Like a cherry from a tree
placed it against your lips
Then swallowed it whole
I watched the bulge slide down your throat
And through your lips now crimson soaked
Disguised as me, in my voice, you spoke

you replaced my tongue with silent wood,
To speak your lies as best it could.
You place upon my hide new clothes
To cover the showing bits of bone
you repainted my grain to look as it should
Even my wild auburn curls obeyed your comb

You left my derelict eyes alone.
For the desecration of my soul
Was the final act of your Ventriloquist’s show
Meant to forever loop Inside my skull
My breathless surrender pulled the curtain closed
As you dusted the shelf where your trophies go
A new home
for your Beautiful
Lifeless doll