themummy

First, you cut out my heart,
          Red jewel,
And hand it back for me to hold,
As it turns dull and brown.

You have emptied me,
          Put my innards in jars,
Refilling me with rags and sawdust,
So you might pretend I am unchanged.

You salt my wounds with words,
          Thick oil that won't wash away,
A horrid sting to save me,
Make me strong for eternal survival.

Many-layered silence now hangs on me like linens,
          With ears yet to hear, there is but maddening quiet,
My open mouth making me sensible to the feeling
Of whithering.

I paint my own face to fool you,
          A hollow shell,
Laced tightly closed,
To protect my dried, empty self.

One day in millennia, you will remove the silence,
          Layer by layer,
And marvel at my preservation:
How lifelike!