Best Poems Written by Erin Oweka

Corpse

It's day one.
But not really, because its actually been two years
And my Body is starting to eat itself 
As each year passes, another part of me is consumed.
A leg, a finger, a part of my brain

I stumble through the day with my one leg, and half
A brain, attempting, trying to function
Oh! My eye is gone, I can no longer see -
How will I get to work?

Day two, but not really, since we’re going on 
Year Four
And my skin has started to rot, and peel
Onlookers cover their nose at the stench
Of my rotting corpse, dragging itself down the street

Father ignores the necrosis
Although he has learned, somehow
To cover his nose
And look away from the maggots nestled 
Comfortably in my flesh
But Sister claws at my cannibalistic Body
In anger and fights,
Desperately trying 
To stop Her from eating me

But last night, She took my heart.
The one thing I had, she took -
Unexpectedly.
Its shrieks of pain pierced the cold night air
As it was slowly and mercilessly
torn apart, tortured for hours,
Till the screams subsided and turned
Into a deafening silence.

So now, I move with no heart
No brain
No fingers or feet
Just a torso, an arm and
An empty half-a-head
Dragging itself down the street.

I can no longer think, feel, breathe or remember
It takes me at least
Forty five minutes, to remember where I put my keys
Or my shoes
I smile at people with half my lips, laugh
With half a stomach, come home
Lie in bed and stare at the ceiling
With half an eye

My Body and I are no longer one, 
She operates completely on her own and
Has become my enemy. 
She spends every day
Taking more from me, determined 
To make sure I do not see the next 

But I cannot blame her one bit, for you see,
Her Owner is despicable.

She laid in silence, watching as I
Hurt those She loved, destroyed a future She built
Discarded the ones She cared for
And damaged Her beyond repair
She deserves Her revenge
I will not fight Her for it

Soon the day will come
When the last of Her and I 
is consumed, when the both of us will 
be taken away
Into the abyss, our fear and regret disappearing 
Into the unknown, finally free, blissfully free
from the pain we both endured.

Copyright © Erin Oweka | Year Posted 2023