A Rehearsal in Decay

by William Eichler

Dermatophagia- a psychological condition in which a person compulsively bites, chews, gnaws, or eats their skin.*

It doesn’t really have a taste,

but the texture is a little like

chicken. I bite down on the tips

and gnaw until there are nerves

exposed beneath my teeth

and layers of myself slinking

down my throat. And I reflect

on the fact that my own flesh

cannot sustain me.

I hunger and

I hunger,

but the grit of my teeth

against the weakness

of my skin leads to nothing

but red rivulets flowing

outward to be wiped

On rough denim

dark enough to hide

the stains. Each day

I wonder if I will

bite deep enough

to see the bones

that I have never even

had the chance to break,

and I wonder if they will

be as white as I imagine

them to be. Eventually

the pain of the rending

brings me to a stop

and I stare at the hands

of a corpse.