schism (umbilical cord)

darkness engulfed me
as i awoke in the womb.
the mother is dead.

Not decomposing, no, not nearly so obscene.
she was just... not alive.
her heart wasn't beating.
the kind of dead that
brings to light how
alone you really are.

Sanctioned under a dead woman's skin.

She was the kind of dead
that highlights the
vicarious ways
of the origin of life.
the kind of dead that reminded
me that to some, you are nothing
but an inconvenient tumor.

perhaps the dead woman I'm trapped in
thought of me that way.
after all, I'm so very alive.
and she is so very dead.
this body wasn't big enough for us.

no, she wanted me to live. I can feel it in her bones.
she died for me.
the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck.

Thank you.