Decisive swipes

If I strip it all away
The varnish and the shine
Let the finish dull
Will you still see
That I have good bones?


Wipe the kohl from my eyes
The stain from my lips
In decisive swipes
Reveal the pale beneath
Let the fear and weakness show
Will you have the courage
To hold my hand?


I am so much more
Yet so much less
Than the sum of my assembled parts
Contradictory cogs spooling themselves away
Inside my head
The work never done


In my dreams
You leave me
I scream whispers to make you return
And I'm alone still
When I awake
An arm stretching across sheets cool
From absence


In my waking imagination
You could love me if only