Neal

i have gotten good at
picking myself apart

i disassemble my body
piece by piece

i haul the walls down
shake out the gathered dust
the memories
the heartache

and after examining and cataloging
what is there
or no longer there
i try to put the pieces back
together

but i lost the directions
long ago

and inevitably there are parts
left out
left over
or just plain mishandled
and broken

there is a little bit
less of me
each time

pretty soon
i will be
just like
them