Phantom Pain

Like a toothache,

a consistent angry ache;

a cavity in the cavity.

A soreness in the heart,

a malady without cure,

no prescription for the sickening curiosity.

.

.

.

So I dug it out,

one artery, one vein

one ventricle, one atrium.

It worked for a while,

an emptiness, where once pain ruled

departure from the agonizing regularity that thrummed.

But word by careless word,

jab by jarring thrust

this vacant cave in my chest collapses.