cyborg 

inject me blue 

the process is methodical &
painless

or so i am told

i knew i was a cyborg from 
an early age--

i dreamed in wires &
a more efficient heart
to keep you in--

touch me-- i do not want
to forget what skin should feel like

what should i call myself now?

& i woke up with bionic fingers 
copper & steel--

cold from sleeping
by the cracked window--

january took too long 
& now we're dead--

my brother & i making tin foil
armor on the floor of the living 
room--

planning a war--

reynolds wrap shields & 
blood turning surreal-- breached 

blue from the needles
we kept beneath our pillows--

at night we sleepless 
played in father's forge:
saw table & welding flame--

whose sun is this blaring
on the concrete floor?

fetch glasses of water 
to make small oceans--

i cannot drink anymore out of
fear of short circuiting--

i want to be a lightning cloud--

zeus kneeling in my joints--

the life of a cyborg 
is one of borders & no-borders--

i sometimes tear holes in
the neighbor's chain link fence--
eat rust-- taste rain--

blood tastes like metal &
metal tastes like skin--

whose handy-work am i?

whose make-shift daughter?

when i'm done you might not
recognize me--

i'm painting my glass
eyes blue in the bathroom
mirror--

i'm searching for spare parts--

(just so you know)
i'm keeping my collar bones--

& when you touch these 
contradictory skins
i can recall all

the fragments of
this body--

when i ask you to 
touch me it is not that
i want to be made whole

it is that i want 
you to inhale these ironies--

the robot & the boy
who stand barefoot--
lean on bed posts

i want to be your stained glass
window--

drip the sunset over me--

do not be afraid of
the cold parts--

i took the spokes of 
my old bicycle for ribs--

reflectors behind my eyes--

the darkness is only
the end of a yo-yo string--

the sun in coming back 
& when it does i'll tell you
a better story about me--

in the mean time 
i want to be held--

the machine was a girl &
she had pig tails--

you are why i keep this skin 

am i too cold?