Corset of Secrets

My corset of secrets

Is growing tighter

What was once a hug

Has become a noose

Tight

Too tight

I can't

B   R   E   A   T   H   E

Where some wear their corset

For the world to see

So that others may take some of their secrets

And loosen the strings,

I hide mine beneath my skin

And instead of giving the

S   T   R   A   N   G   U   L   A   T   I   O   N

To others,

I simply try to shrink my own lungs to make room

But sometimes

When I take too deep a breath

And my corset has become just a little

Tight

Too tight

I find that it may squeeze out my blood

And make my veins twist and shriek

Until they rip free of my body

And reach for a paper

Then my veins,

Bursting with secrets too tight,

Dance across the paper and

My blood forms words that my mouth never could

And all the secrets my corset held

Are released in a flurry of pain and

P   A   S   S   I   O   N

For that corset of mine

Has become just a bit

Tight

Too tight

To escape from

So it has tattooed my body with secrets

So hard to keep

And sometimes, when I climb into bed

And my ribs are cracking

It's easier to let my blood loose

Than to shed that cursed corset

The words of red

That stain the paper,

That's what I call poetry

That's what I call art

A way for  me to cut the strings

Even if only a little bit

Poetry comes from my

V   E   I   N   S

It comes pouring from my

B   L   O   O   D

Late at night

When my corset's too tight