palm reading

i sit cross-legged on the floor
rocking upon my thin mat
with my bible spread open
on the floor in front of me
to another blank page

i slap my bookmark into my palm
its razor-sharp edge biting through
the skin curls back as if ashamed
to have been hiding such wonder

blood plasma slowly begins to ooze
from the cleanly sliced edges
swirling into the centre
drying into a hard, chitinous disc

slowly, tentatively i touch fingertips
to the translucent surface
no longer my own flesh, but solidified
yet my fingers slip through

finding purchase in the unknown
they grip, they tug, pull myself in after
slowly, carefully, twisting through
i'm peeled back as i move forward

i peer into the blackness
a universe unformed
waiting, a great galaxy heart
beating, like mine

this otherwise unblemished, innocent space
contaminated, right from the start
for inside-out, i still carry
the baggage
of all my race