Decayed, etc.
by
Kelly Sweeney
Decayed
I spot the core of an apple,
Laid upon the kitchen floor.
Seeds gouged from their hollow home,
Rebirth left in dismay.
The peels fall to their doom,
Pulp trembling in shaking hands,
As a fly sits atop,
Draining blood from the orange.
Now the counter is stained red,
Seeds soaking into marble,
Remnants flung far away,
As the pomegranate split open.
The bitter taste of bile comes seeping out,
Rotten fruit spills to the ground,
Berries burst like bruised flesh,
And spoiled juice paints my nails.
Now I’m an aching corpse,
And seedless like the apple,
Horror gnaws a home in my chest,
Why does fruit feel like I’ve drowned?
Absolute Erasure
The void of evidence was a source of comfort.
Nothing desirable left to give.
Too many words rotting down to an ache,
A clawing, feral, ache in my chest.
Other nights the truth swallows me whole,
Peeling back the layers you have pressed your hands into.
The vulnerability shared between us now mute.
Tongueless.
Begging you for scraps.
Sometimes this thing is a pile of vomit,
Sitting in the corner of my bedroom.
Stored away in my body,
Until it climbs up my throat,
Pleading to be released.
This thing is what we are now.
What I am now.
The void of evidence was a source of comfort,
Until it burned at the slightest touch.
Until there was nothing left behind,
Not even my name in your mouth.
Until the ghost of you stayed,
Breathing in my every waking hour.
There is nothing left to haunt.
Dismemberment
You breathe your disdain for me.
I choke on the bitter weight of your indifference,
Giving parts of myself away to you,
How truly pathetic of me.
I choke on the bitter weight of your indifference.
Unsaid words curdle in my throat,
Thick and heavy.
How truly pathetic of me.
To be replaced by a younger and prettier Barbie doll,
In just minutes.
Plastic perfection and vacant eyes.
Giving parts of myself away to you,
But the silence between us tastes metallic,
Like blood on my bitten tongue.
Giving parts of myself away to you,
You have all my limbs.
You’re holding them hostage in the room
I will never see again.
Locked away with the ghost of who I was.
You have all my limbs,
But I yearn to be noticed for more than my body.
Even from across the room,
I am nothing but flesh in your gaze.
You breathe your disdain for me,
But now I refuse to inhale.
Kelly currently resides at the Jersey Shore. She is 24 years old and currently working her first anthology, which will be a collection of poems. Others can find her work on her website, https://www.kellyscoolcreations.com/ !
by
Kelly Sweeney
Decayed
I spot the core of an apple,
Laid upon the kitchen floor.
Seeds gouged from their hollow home,
Rebirth left in dismay.
The peels fall to their doom,
Pulp trembling in shaking hands,
As a fly sits atop,
Draining blood from the orange.
Now the counter is stained red,
Seeds soaking into marble,
Remnants flung far away,
As the pomegranate split open.
The bitter taste of bile comes seeping out,
Rotten fruit spills to the ground,
Berries burst like bruised flesh,
And spoiled juice paints my nails.
Now I’m an aching corpse,
And seedless like the apple,
Horror gnaws a home in my chest,
Why does fruit feel like I’ve drowned?
Absolute Erasure
The void of evidence was a source of comfort.
Nothing desirable left to give.
Too many words rotting down to an ache,
A clawing, feral, ache in my chest.
Other nights the truth swallows me whole,
Peeling back the layers you have pressed your hands into.
The vulnerability shared between us now mute.
Tongueless.
Begging you for scraps.
Sometimes this thing is a pile of vomit,
Sitting in the corner of my bedroom.
Stored away in my body,
Until it climbs up my throat,
Pleading to be released.
This thing is what we are now.
What I am now.
The void of evidence was a source of comfort,
Until it burned at the slightest touch.
Until there was nothing left behind,
Not even my name in your mouth.
Until the ghost of you stayed,
Breathing in my every waking hour.
There is nothing left to haunt.
Dismemberment
You breathe your disdain for me.
I choke on the bitter weight of your indifference,
Giving parts of myself away to you,
How truly pathetic of me.
I choke on the bitter weight of your indifference.
Unsaid words curdle in my throat,
Thick and heavy.
How truly pathetic of me.
To be replaced by a younger and prettier Barbie doll,
In just minutes.
Plastic perfection and vacant eyes.
Giving parts of myself away to you,
But the silence between us tastes metallic,
Like blood on my bitten tongue.
Giving parts of myself away to you,
You have all my limbs.
You’re holding them hostage in the room
I will never see again.
Locked away with the ghost of who I was.
You have all my limbs,
But I yearn to be noticed for more than my body.
Even from across the room,
I am nothing but flesh in your gaze.
You breathe your disdain for me,
But now I refuse to inhale.
Kelly currently resides at the Jersey Shore. She is 24 years old and currently working her first anthology, which will be a collection of poems. Others can find her work on her website, https://www.kellyscoolcreations.com/ !
