"By Our Hands"

"By Our Hands"

Peel away my skin.
Dead skin with the nerve to bleed.
Alive it rives in pain of need.
I need you to touch me;
But you weren't here today.
Our minds have gone astray.
Found reasons to delay.
When there's nothing to say,
We slowly drift away.
There is bound to be a rift.
Something shifts us from our hearts
To that which aims to tear us apart.
Late night and one wonders.
Midnight milling through phone numbers.
There was no we today;
But did that incur dismay?

How about leeway?
Intermittent in a segue
Bred of what fortifies the wedge
That breaches such a fragile hedge.
Our house is broken.
Homeless amid four walls,
drippings sinks, dark halls
And shallow sheets in the fall.
So who is there to call?
Who lurks among them?
What unspeakable girth of men
Have clamored for severance?
There is no portion of reverence
Reserved for the hearts it truly deserves.
It gets on my fucking nerves.
Don't dare label me absurd.

I'm not insane. There are just implied times
When one's definition of sanity
Resembles that of a vanity
And that mirror never stood a chance.
At first glance, I may appear at ease.
Nothing easy about my grace.
No energy wasted or misplaced
Because I'm saving it for the chase.
I will lay here on this floor:
This broken house with padlocked doors
And I will dream of ways
To bring this drowning life to shore.
Swore I'd never let us die.
Let this fly. Don't ask me why.
My patience is wearing thin
And I'm not even trying to win.

So please.

Peel away my skin.
Wear my tendons thin.
Tussle with my muscles
Until my bones are crumbled.
Slam me against these locked doors
Until it leaks from my pores.
Plunge me into these windows.
Sweat and blood drips as wind blows.
For once and for only.
Don't leave me so lonely.
Against what you're condoning,
Be here like crowds before stoning.
Witness all the trials.
Watch my mind race for miles.
Soak up all this shame
As loved ones fight under my name.
Partake of my failure.
My self imposed disaster.
Embarrassment so damn extreme
That no one should have to look after.

Be here when it hurts
To be attentive through the spurts.
And the shouting.
And the screaming.
Be here for excuses
that I make to keep believing.
Tear down the cluster fuck:
Down on luck per his own volition;
Granting procrastinate permission
To wash away what should be.
This should not be me.
This will not be we.
I'll have you steal away.
I'll have you remain at bay
Before I rue the day
That I let it end this way.

Before I accept this sin
Of not reaching deep within
For where our forever should begin,
I'll let you peel away this skin.

And shatter all these bones.

What remains can be left alone.

Written By: Devin Joseph Metz