I used to have guts

Guts that were scraped

Scraped until all the good parts

Parts that held seeds were gone

Gone and replaced by artificial light

Light that illuminated my smile

Smile carved deep into my skin

Skin that was starting to harden

Harden around my wounds

Wounds that were sealed by the cold

Cold wouldn’t let me go

Go back into the dirt

Dirt was better than the porch

Porch meant people

People who would point

Point me out to their children

Children who noticed my emptiness

Emptiness that delighted them