vacated sheath, muscle car, cop car, ramps,
a cardboard box, books, and broken axels,
spare tires, a steel toe, and the miserable.
A knife to hollow out a soul,
to cut a face with, to stab a heart.
A knife to uncover the missing
selves we only knew in part.
Uncertainty, hands upon their cold metal,
wheels atop the ground, rolling deeply
against an even bitter kitchen floor,
a clutch, neck tie, collar, ominous mettle.
A knife to hollow out a hole,
from whole and not yet all apart.
A knife to recover from abreast,
a cranium, darkly wedged leather dart.
Wails, groans, shrieks and screams,
palms raised, waving away disbelief
like a magical wand -maybe magic
will make its return -degenerate peace.
