Written By: Arden Falker

Canvas wrapped in a vortex of arms.

Ripping wounds and clawing skin

I bite the bit to feel a signal.

Tension strains, life on tilt.

Phantom hands tear at my clothes.

lace concealing bullet holes.

Locusts of my heart concealed

I choke a smirk, bleeding to feel.

Your hands of ice linger, numb

I bear a shadow I call love.

To feign a sigh at every touch

Invasive thoughts simmering, hushed.

You savor me, agony’s knife

I grimace at your decline.

Descending through protective lace

digging through my remains.

Adorned of given ornaments

donning pearl bandages.

Trinkets of fleeting affection

lingering tarnish of indiscretion.

Coiling through garments of mesh

crawling on my conquered death.

You hastily take your time

Defiling what’s left of your bride.


Arden Falker is an emerging poet from Audubon, Minnesota who explores the fault lines where memory, place, and language collide. His work is forthcoming in The Phoenix, The Chimes, The Unhoused Anthology (Prolific Pulse Press), Rundelania, Lovecraftiana Magazine, and Academy of the Heart and Mind.

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