Palimpsest

Now things are different between me and the world
It moves steadily faster 
to avoid the detail you slip into speech where the memory seeps
like the blood spilling out of a limb soaks the sleeves
or the cheap slight of hand we all play the amputee wings the fight
but the war it begins when he wakes from the night
he knows that he lost what he needs
we know we lost what we need