If you peeled my skin off I'd be smiling

I haven't been dreaming recently
I tell you
I miss my dreams.

You look at me,
shiny eyed.
Perhaps you need to move on with your life?
Perhaps you're standing still?

I press my lips together
like I'm thinking it over
but what I'm thinking is Fuck you.

You look subdued
you tell me
and stroke me on the arm.

I turn away
and think about the skeletons
underneath our skin
as we pour vodka
into mouths that never stop grinning.
Black hole eyes.

If you peeled my skin off
I'd be smiling,
I say
and you laugh.

Later you tell me about a girl
with an imaginary phone
who visited your aquarium.
She talked to the England manager
while you showed her
that an octopus is as clever as a dog.

Your eyes shine
as you tell me
and I remember
You're not so bad.
How could you be?
When you've still got a bruise
from an octopus
on your wrist.

Before you go
your skeleton holds onto mine
and you tell me
All I wanted was a cuddle.

There are gaps where our bones don't meet
and it's cold
but we're both grinning
and we don't know how to stop.