inside outside

my intestines resting in my lap

like thick thread

or my lungs clinging

to my shoulder blades

like lobed wings.

my blood in a wine glass,

my skull as a goblet,

my teeth as jewels,

my uterus as a tobacco pouch.

all of these which are my parts

and so horrible to look at

when on the outside,

naked and heaving.

my heart with fingers in the valves

pulling out vines

or my brain cradled against the breast

like a child,

the inside meeting the outside,

awakening to the sun.

when the inside meets the outside,

it's hard to deny your ribs are

a cage like mine, trapping the songbirds

of our voices.

our exposed larynxes like violin strings

can sing in harmony.

if you peel back my skin

and I flay your flesh, then

we can count the striations in our

muscles like tree rings.

pour yourself out to me

and I will spill myself for you

and together we can paint a room

the same color.