MY COLLAR

The collar around my heart
was given as inheritance
I never knew that once worn
there was no way to remove again.

Sometimes it squeezes
on my flow of blood
until my mind suffers
from a plethora of impulse ailments
making me stumble
when I should have raced.

Others occasions it tangles my tongue
so it can't speak with sincere vowels
by the language of my soul.
Worst of all is the infection
that comes as a thief and causes
an ogre legacy I hate to awaken
to prowl as a hideous beast
having lips that spit
a caustic verbal drool.

What can I say to ease
those burn marks left
beyond the pain I truly felt myself?
Hoping you will understand
this vile emotive pox,
which is never satiated,
does also bring a numbness
leaving me crippled in my expressions,
so truly sad and hollow inside
for how it makes my face and features
appear as an iceberg.