Raw (Poem)

Raw

I got in a fight with a girl

And she kicked my ass.

She took a bat to my ribs

And then she kicked me in the balls.

When I got up from the dirt,

She dumped me face-first into the rocks,

Drove her knee into the back of my neck,

Raked my skin with her nails

And punched me in the face,

Nearly closing both eyes.

From a headlock,

I cried, “Uncle!”

She said it wasn’t enough.

I said “Aunt, then!”

And she laughed.

But it was a cold, distant one.

Eventually she tired

And she went away.

The sun was low

So I got up

And limped home.

For two months I stayed indoors.

I slept on the couch as my bones

Knitted back together.

I ate chicken soup

Until my jaw worked again.

And then I ate fresh vegetables

And sat in the blessed sunshine

On my porch

For days.

Eventually I returned to the playground

Alone.

I saw you there,

And shyly smiled.

You smiled back.

You asked about my eyes,

Still slightly bruised.

But you didn’t laugh,

And you showed me your knee...

We played all day in that playground

And the sun sank low on the horizon.

Shyly, like a female wolf

Approaching an irresistible treat

You approached me

While I waited.

“What about the bandage on your elbow,” you asked.

“Doesn’t it need to come off?”

I nodded solemnly

Because I knew it did

And that it would hurt to remove it.

But it was You

And the day had been

So nice

So I let you try.

“This is how you do it,” you said.

“Fast.”

I closed my eyes while you pulled hard

And I sucked in air against the sting.

The bandage fell to the ground

And you ran away into the approaching night.

I stood and watched your sweet figure disappear

Alone

Fresh blood dripping

From a new, old wound

Onto the warm, dusty earth.

--Eric Marley

January 2012