picking myself apart
/i tore off a piece of me
and held it up to the light
examined it
found fault in it
cried
i ripped off some more of me
squeezed it between
two panes of glass
placed it under the microscope
adjusted the focus
and sighed
i tore holes in myself
poked at myself
unstitched myself
bare
until there was nothing
left of me
but a big mess over
there
and then
there was nothing to do
but to start
picking myself up
after picking myself
apart