Someone,

open me up.

Fillet me,

from my shoulder blades,

kneed out the knots I’ve collected

throughout the years.

Flip me over and crack open my ribcage,

lungs deflated,

heart popping out at you like a jack-in-the-box.

Pour bleach down my airways,

forget other aesthetics

and make me pure like a candy cigarette.

cut out my heart,

Rumor has it that it's beaten for too long.

Look inside,

see the heart string that broke,

the thinning of the aortic valve.

I hear my liver is rotten,

kidneys growing mushrooms;

my throat’s got a hole in it,

my tongue growing blue.

Put a heart-shaped patch

over every hole I've made, give me new, paper maché organs,

ones I can’t feel in my chest.

Give me taffy heart strings

in a cotton candy heart,

pump me with helium,

and sew me back together with

ribbon and maybe,

just maybe,

I’ll be okay.

- Lindsey



More from Lindsey ↓

• @writing.by.lindsey on Instagram
• She is currently working on a poetry book.

Mentioned in this episode:

One Poem Only submissions are open.

I’m filling the next chapter of One Poem Only and would love to include your work. Send me the poem you wrote and want the world to hear. New this round: if you’d like to read your own poem on the podcast, you can. No need for a perfect studio recording—just a clear audio file recorded in a quiet space. If you choose this option, you’ll submit your poem and an audio file of you reading it. Submissions close Thursday, July 30. I’ll respond by August 12. Whether I read your poem or you read it yourself, I’d love to hear what you’re ready to share.