My body rumbles
But I calm it.

It is in shock again—
Reverberations
Of trauma
From another place,
Another time.

I press my hand
Against my stomach
And quell the unease.
Yet the disquiet
Brewing in there
Has grown unwieldy.

It explodes
In a bloody mess.

I am certain I am dead
But I still think and feel
And the pain—
There is none.
Only numbness
And lightness
Of a burden
Removed from me.
My flesh knits together
Before my eyes.
First, my organs.
Then my bones
And my muscles.
Finally, my skin.
Exhausted, I sleep.

I wake.
Complete again,
Wondering
If it was a dream.

Until I touch
The jagged scar
On my belly
And my heart begins
To fiercely pound,
Shattering my rib cage.