the numbness that surrounds me
 
the numbness that surrounds me
a rind
waxy impenetrable
keeps me
from peeling away into the parts of myself
silence and essence
there is too much noise
i am wrapped in ear-ringing
 
fingernails rupture
puncture to get inside
clawing a way out a way in trapped in my skin
callous forming over
eardrum, mouth, nostril, fingertips
 

4.5.03, rev. 3.29.04

s.spachman