And if skin were chocolate I would melt it,

make it transparent and swallow the soul,

then let chocolate sit smugly in its pan

as I use words to paint a soul

and let bodies take care of themselves.

(They usually do.)

Better yet,

if the mind were chocolate I would taste it,

drill through the skull

and the transparent melted chocolate skin

to let thoughts and emotions

dance on the tongue,

and I would create the world with my words.

Yet as it is

skin is not chocolate

and the mind is not chocolate

and at the end of the day

I will not drill through skulls

to lick the truth. Nor will I

melt down chocolate skin

and leave cold bones exposed.

I can only guess

that sometimes perception is as good as chocolate

and skin does not need to melt

to paint a soul.