My compensation is my body

Stringy hair and crusty gums

Turn into a new person

Even one I may not like

Is more worth it than this mess

I can't keep up with like

The flakes on my fingernails

Or in my memory

Of blurry faces and too many

Nights with only smoke and

Mirrors to reflect the marks

From shedding my skin

Too many times and again

I can feel the claws coming out

Tearing at my eyelashes or

The tear stains I can't hide

But the drugs never hurt me

It was only all the rest

And I'm willing to pay

With beauty or abundance

To never hurt like this again