• By Lily Niven (she/her)
  • Art “Checkmate, Bitch!” by Lily Niven (she/her)

Empty.
She has gutted me,
Innards decorating
Those walls I used to
Love so much.

Chest cavity hollow,
Torso carved to the navel.
I left my heart
Beating on that stage,
Its cadence slowing.

I still feel
slashes on my
Arms,
Cheeks,
Chest.

Blood dripping,
Dripping blood
From my carnage
Heart withering,
Ash is all I am.

She shouldn’t have done that;
Now my pitiful mercy
Cannot stop me from
Going after
Her.

So I braid my innards,
Mop spilled blood
With golden hair. I tear
Strands from my scalp to
Stitch my wounds back together,

Until I become the monstrosity she has created.