the soul is wound within the world

clothed in flesh to tear it open

its mercy is older than mercy

not the kind one's sin alone could bear

it will not soothe or give you peace

it wears your flesh to open more

it lets you bleed then holds you open

bleeds you dry - the soul recalls

the day you tore out from atom

named in tongue

at once birth and death of a world

souls love perforce (the way gods do)

that which they give they must take

and break you tender, break you clean

and peel you back so you remember

you were never truly whole.

this is the soul

the wound

the same

veins in you beat with those of earth.