I wanted to give you
this needle and thread
in hopes you could
stitch yourself back together.
Pass the needle
through your layers of skin,
find the edges of
your severed veins,
make tiny stitches,
and hope they hold.
Stick the needle under
your veins and cells,
under the grey matter
hiding in your skull
and into the memories,
faded and forgotten.
Sew the pieces together
until they make sense,
until the story is complete,
until the lockstitching is strong
and the holes patched.
Fold your memories,
methodically and carefully,
and store them safely
in the underlining of your own body.
Tuck them in deep,
where their sharp points
can no longer scratch.
Pull the thread tight
and will the canyons of
split epidermis to fuse
back into smooth landscapes
and not entredeux.
I wanted to give you
this needle and thread
in hopes you can
stitch yourself back together.
But you look at me,
let out an almost
inaudible sigh of
distrust and defeat,
and go back
to ripping seams.
About the Creator
Colleen Borst
As an artist and a writer, I love pulling strands of folklore into our current world, imagining what could be, and paying respect to the past.
Visit me at ColleenBorst.com or etsy.com/shop/ModernHexology
Reader insights
Outstanding
Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!
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Heartfelt and relatable
The story invoked strong personal emotions
Compelling and original writing
Creative use of language & vocab
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Comments (1)
I loved this, so entrancing to read, and the ending was abrupt yet it fits so beautifully. We try to help people and sometimes it just seems like all they want to do is continue to sabotage themselves.