gears in forests

look: my face has lost its
human shine. i've been stolen,
broken at the spine. can't
keep breath in, can't be
fine. carapace ashatter;
there aren't eyes.
cheeks on fire,
ears in abject whine. rend
my sternum, darling.

watched it all
atrophy.
watched it break
at the knee.
washed in the tide
of man felled.

what sort of being
am,
what sort of fire
can
ruin me, steadily,
fully?