Scratch and sniff.

An onion, I am

with many layers

break me up or cut me

and I will make you cry

The first layer

is a small frail bulb

scared and sacred

at the core

to many tears to tare

away to the soft beginning

The second layer

a circumference

of significance

surrounding in safety

protecting the weakness

within

were i learned to hide

with more shells

The Third Layer

is where i laced my head

dreaming all those distant days

for a better way to bleed

i picked up a note book

and planted a seed

The Fourth layer

i learned about greed

needing the sun to grow

soil to soak my soul

with water

and oxygen to breath

this is when i believed

The fifth layer

I began not to care

as i stared inwards

threw my growing own

an earth bound purgatory

caught between heaven

and hell

I started to smell

pungent and unique

The sixth layer

growing skin so thick

i didn’t need to think

as it all came naturally

shape shifting

from a bulb to brave

from the cradle to the grave

with nothing to save

I grew and gave

all i was worth

till i became dirt

from were i once came

beyond the cycle

in an endless

refrain

~ by Marcus Cheney on January 18, 2007.