Woo Kata

Insomnia, cigarettes, coffee;

You stumbled upon my skin,

Nothing underneath to befriend

But you shared your soul with me

So I could have one awhile.

Despising flesh, but still

Your eyes caught underneath,

Scalpels cutting deep,

With calm surgical skill.

You see parts of me I don’t.

I repudiated community.

Injecting intentional lies

To avert watchful eyes,

But you possessed immunity,

And I stood before you exposed.

The good and bad in open air.

I didn’t know what else to do.

I fled. I fought. I bit you.

You continued unimpaired

To tame the shrew in me.

Then began the raining tempest

Dissolving my once impenetrable resistance.

I could no longer keep you a safe distance,

But curled up under you for rest.

I finally slept at last.

When I awoke, the flood had receded.

We stood together; defenseless, alone.

You: a threat I’d never known,

But I had already conceded.

I was yours to guard or grieve.

These staggered breaths, these years exhaled,

Have shown a soul cannot be earned,

But perhaps re-grown, or returned.

I got mine back the day I failed

To treat you like all the rest.