Pile of Parts

This week’s post is a poem that was featured in Pen & Quill‘s first issue, and it’s one that I actually wrote for part of my final year university coursework, so I hope you enjoy it! One of the editors, Jamie Kim, called it “A captivating poem about self-destruction and rebirth” – and you can read the rest of the editor’s comment in the issue if you’re interested! This poem does contain somewhat graphic but brief descriptions of body parts, so feel free to skip this one if that doesn’t sound like the sort of thing you want to be reading right now. But if it sounds right up your street, then here is the poem for this week!

Pile of Parts

Rip my tongue from my throat
and allow it to join the ground,
fleshy red melding with concrete.
Ply my teeth from my gums,
one by one, and let them clatter
down, dancing staccato.
Pluck my eyes from my skull,
blind me to life and breath,
and force my soul to sing again.
Turn me into a pile of parts
on the pavement, able to
create a whole, but unwilling.