hangnail

a little lift

in my cuticle’s indent

beckons my caress

void of care

surgical precision 

compels my unskilled hands

strung by puppet strings

peeling the page 

onto the next

raw indent of red

long tender strips of leather

stick to their origin

hanging on like a child’s needy 

grip of their departing mother

orphan dermis

vibrant opulus  

blossom from thick

keratin plates embedded in sticky satisfaction

saliva drip spit

extinguish volcanic eruption

with the feline lick of regret

felt only after temptation wins