All out in front of me

All out in front of me
I lay it neatly
Where I can see it
Pin it down
Dissect it
Separate what’s hurting me
Isolate what I want to be
Put that back where it belongs
Then wrap the rest in cellophane
Place it in the ice box
With the other parts that I’ve declined
A freeze dried version of the man I was
Perfectly preserved in plastic wrap
I don’t know why I keep it
Yet there it is
Crammed between sweet kisses
I’d rather forget
And the awful things I never will
Staring at me
Waiting to be reconstituted
With a single tear
February 2020
Image by Bryan Rodriguez.