alrighty here we go

This scab won’t ever heal

I can’t stop picking at it

I watch the blood congeal

And continue this nasty habit

I chew on each dried blood clot

I taste the iron on the tip of my tongue

While having the same reoccurring thought

I want to go back to when I was young

When my skin wasn’t covered in scars

Before the light in my eyes faded

I’d store my youth in bottles and jars

My best qualities becoming marinaded

Once a year, I’ll pull them out

Wear them like clothing on my birthday

Never having any self doubt

Never worrying about what others think or say

Though to be honest, I am far crueler

I pick at metaphorical scabs, too

The process eerily similar

Finding painful memories to savor and chew

I don’t know what it means to let go

To set things down and move on

I ruminate until my feelings overflow

And rip off healed parts my fingers come upon