All That Remains
Lisa Armstrong
When my love for you
left this body
a carcass shell
the stench of guilt
and remorse
didn’t dissipate -
instead, it buzzed around my head
like a mottled blue bottle
until a winter frost
killed it stone cold
I dusted the earth
from my bare bones
and carried them
in a shroud I had made
with our polyester bedsheets
Hoping that with time
they will flesh out
With time I’ll grow into
this skin, this body,
this face and all that
remains
___
Lisa Mary Armstrong is a Scottish poet and law tutor. In what's left of her spare time she likes to write poetry and fiction, drink tea and play the piano badly. Her poems have been published in @poeticallymag @aurorajournal @fahmidanjournal and forthcoming in @royalrosemag @dwellinglit @TheIndianFemRev. She can be found on Twitter @earlygrey79_lisa.