Lines

perched on piss-stained porcelain

she hunches over graffitied gore

a tapestry of torment throbs

under bloody band aids

under long sleeved t-shirts

grisly glyphs that glint

pearlescent, anaemic

pain internal

explodes, external

nothing lives outside

of these moments –

these lines are too perfect,

too precise, unlike the

stretchmarks on her breasts,

punishments of puberty –

her love is lonely

each slash, a word she

uses to wound herself,

that cut just as much as

the razor she dismantles,

as desperation drips onto

dog-eared diary pages

when in these moments

she aches for an end,

       THE END

     of everything

This piece was shortlisted in the 2021 mindshare Awards, presented by mindshare, Writers SA, Access2Arts, and the Mental Health Coalition of South Australia. More info here.