Exposed

I look in the mirror and see skin; Excess the only perceivable remark. Peel it away, a voice says to me. Peel it away, and you will be free. I take my sharpest blade, the voice, My guide. So much flesh removed, I turn to the mirror in admiration. I feel limber, lighter. A fatty film Stretches over my body like saran wrap. Peel it away, a voice says to me. Peel it away, and you will be free. I break the seal. Striated pulp holds My bones together. In the mirror, Adjoining ether inflames the bare tissue. Peel it away, a voice says to me. Peel it away, and you will be free. I seize clumps of red matter And rip them from my being. I look in the mirror. Never Has my facial structure been so Pronounced. My eyes, so replete. Peel it away, a voice says to me. Peel it away, and you will be free. Before I begin, I look at my reflection. “There is nothing else to peel away.” Thank you, I hear behind me. An animated frame of ivory stands Before me. He absorbs his spoils where They lie and takes my former form. Now I am free. I am a skeleton with nothing more than A network of exposed fibers signaling Belated warnings. Overtaken by atmosphere, I collapse.