Feeling raw and wrung out
The humidity hangs heavy.
When one anniversary's healed
Another takes its place.

Death of a parent,
Eclipsed by the death of a friendship.
Death of a cousin,
Eclipsed by the death of my organs.

I'm shedding skin again
As another challenge begins.

A loved one leaving the country,
My heart is traveling outside my body.
My inner child sees the world
Through the ones I love.

This proxy tethers thin
Through the heat and dust.
My heart is not enough shield,
As my loneliness craves release.