Pieces

I came in pieces
Parts hauled together and made
to stick with duct tape and chewing gum
... toes to feet...
... cheek to jaw...
Mismatched ankles to reluctant shins
Hobbling in gangly discordance I moved along
through life, like dancing, nearly
Until I lumbered into a stranger
A gum chewer, who came in parts
tied tight with fishing line,
cooking twine
and seams inked on through self design
Too naive or drunk or happy to see
Despite searching I've never found
a matching pair of ears to sport
a healthy spline nor unused liver
While playing with my crooked spine
he noted my fault lines
took down creeping levees of tissue
kissed, bit, and nuzzled
with no consoling words heaved out
no notion such were needed
Through chortled love songs and hand fed cheese
he holds my aching cracking limbs
fingers woven together like baskets
tight enough to keep the water out
"you'll never cry" except in laughter,
he whispers promises he cannot keep
against the half dark dawn of urban windows
melting
into the cacophony of a methadone clinic's
early risers and a roommate's discontent.