Lignified Soul

You found me nearly hollowed out. A bag of bones upon the ground My soul retreats into my pith But not before you catch a glimpse My soul hides within my core For the light it had, it has no more Your fingers and eyes begin to comb Through the mess of flesh Incaged in bone You looked me over and sat me up Then opened up my cranium Dumped out the mush you found inside repaired my breaks with linen binds Then laughed as love Welled within my eyes There was no doubt, you were sure You had siphoned control, my will was yours And in the shadows behind my eyes You began to sculpt your plan you cut away the bulk of my spine Ensuring what was left, molded to your hand With precision you built from metal and twine A device made to replace what you took from inside A system of tightly pulled strands With rhythmic steps, your fingers would dance Upon its lacquered wooden keys bringing movement to each tethered braid That now coiled around my neck like snakes Any ability of my own to make All were rendered seized I felt the practice, your hands had seen Felt the dexterity within your wrist you cut away my vocal strings And from under my flesh, you stole the instrument so finely tuned Relative to the echos sung by my soul you plucked it from my being Like a cherry from a tree placed it against your lips Then swallowed it whole I watched the bulge slide down your throat And through your lips now crimson soaked Disguised as me, in my voice, you spoke you replaced my tongue with silent wood, To speak your lies as best it could. You place upon my hide new clothes To cover the showing bits of bone you repainted my grain to look as it should Even my wild auburn curls obeyed your comb You left my derelict eyes alone. For the desecration of my soul Was the final act of your Ventriloquist’s show Meant to forever loop Inside my skull My breathless surrender pulled the curtain closed As you dusted the shelf where your trophies go A new home for your Beautiful Lifeless doll