Wash my hair,
Lavender shampoo, the squeak of cleanliness.
When you’re almost done,
Split my skull wide open.
Let it all spill out,
Cerebral storms unraveling in cold, biting splashes.
Take away all that I couldn’t purge.
Let the water flood the hollows of my head.
I’ll shake myself like a stray.
Flinging drops into my eyes.
Forced to see clear at last.

Jump on my spine till it splinters,
Until the crack echoes and silences the birds.
Twist till muscles tear loose,
And my body folds forward like a hollowed-out marionette.
Carve into my stomach and thighs,
Make space where once shame resided.
Reach deep into my throat,
Pluck out my vocal cords.
While you’re there, blow a kiss at my heart.

Lay me down on the couch of my childhood home.
Brush my hair, kiss my head.
Let the laughter - the laughter of my adults,
Fill the empty house I’ve become.