the way we play with memories
creates mortality as a fantasy game
life unfolds a nightmare of half human, half cat, a spirit
hidden inside a corpse, evil switching places with her shadow
such dreams paper-weighted by the dark stone
of a soul wrapped in centuries of symbolism
imprisoned in tear-stained heart chambers
and little acts of torture folded into our grass-stained dresses
seeking to understand the deeper truths of our existence at each bend
secrets kept inside, sealed by a sweeping thumbnail
or the heel of a hand