Causalgia Poem by Rachael Swiss

Even though the connection was severed
I still feel the pain
In the phantom limbs that make up the
Giving Tree that is my
Heart and
Mind and
Flesh
Interdependence vs. Codependence
Knit and purl and bind the edges together
Make me a sweater to keep me warm
On those lonely nights
In summer
When the temperatures are high
But not as high as they could have been
Had we been together
Interlaced like our fingertips
Back when we used to walk these streets
Together
Streets full of people
Faceless New York City people
Who could never hope to grasp
The complexity and simplicity
Of feeling so complete
The whole is the total
Is the sum of the parts
We two
Hero and heroine in our own
Shakespearean drama
Where everyone dies in the end
As everyone always must
And I am dead in places now
Acid rain traveling through my roots
Up into my branches
These arms can no longer hold you
Though they wish to
As that is, has, and always will be their function
Access: Denied
I bleed, I cry, I ache
For the ghost that was once
My flowering heart
Which was only able to blossom
Expand
Love
Explore
Because of your
Emotional and mystical and logical
Embrace
Of all things me
And so please accept this gift graciously
A present from me to you
The train wreck that is
My love.