I will confess, When I entered this dream, I had no expectations. The way it broke down; soluble morsels of better moments Analyzed, deconstructed into a turn of phrase. It caught me unaware. I watched the skin above my eye come undone, Pulling off like an orange peel. The sting of citrus and the taught resistance of separating skin from sinew; A decision. The metal barbell broke free of light hair, dermal wrappings, and layers of sweat crusted over to hang in a shred of flesh, loose and thick with my own blood. A passing thought in summer wind, Unfolding, tumbling; I press my fingernails into the open chasm and flatten them into the muscle, kneading. It yields to the touch of my hand as it digs into the wound, pressing, prying, pushing dirt into the folds and nursing the open sore with a manic obsession, a compulsion to pick apart all that has been exposed. Understanding that it will no longer close, I grab the loosened flap And like rubber, like a thin, powdered silicon, it gives as I wrench it apart. Tearing seals of flesh and muscle, stretching seams until they break, I pull my face off like a mask, And drop the barbell to the floor, where it swirls, circling left and right until being consumed by the shower drain.