Calcium rods

Internal scaffold exposed

An x-ray of bones

Held up to the Sun

While dust motes dance

Hollow sockets stare

Another me asleep

Soft grey vulnerable lines

Cushioned amidst meat

See The End in black and white

All that will remain

Held up against a window pane

Stephen O’Reilly, @Stephen0Re1lly,  lives in Galway, Ireland.  He is a recipient of the 2019 RTE Short Story Award in honour of Francis MacManus and a Molly Keane Memorial Award. His work has been published in various collections in the UK and Ireland.