Just a Dream, Really

[perzephone]

Last night, I dreamed

I was laying on something
Cold, smooth, hard
Under my shoulders
Under my hips
Under my heels

Someone was reaching inside me
“Hey! What are you doing in there?!”
Hands, pulling out my bones
Laying them on a shelf
“Give those back! Those are mine!”

I could not speak
Then I saw, on the shelf
Among the bones,
My lower jaw
And I understood

The hands took my pelvis, my spine
Grabbed a rib, and another
There were not enough ribs
But then the axe head
And I understood

The lack of words
Did not quench my disquiet
The hands would not stop
Until all of my bones
Rested on that shelf
Another voice, “Quiet there!

Can’t you see, we’re all
In this together? Might as well
Let us sleep in peace!”
I heard, the other voices,
Angry murmurs, and saw
All the bones, all the shelves
And I understood