I scrawled an ode to this mortal coil
In scarlet upon your back
I gnarled in code with dreadful toil
A parting verse so black

Ivory skin stretched out before me
In frozen fields of pallid grace
Livid eyes rolled back and silently implored me
From out of your jaundiced face

Carving in crimson with scalpel and rasp
Sculpting your flesh into your epitaph
Your corpse tells its tale in blood, pus and grime
Spilling out secrets you should take to your tomb

A carnal epitaph perhaps best left unheard
The time has come to mince more than words
Parting words don’t often cut this deep
Engraved on your back, the secrets we’ll keep

Though you’ll never read these empty words
Upon the slab you lie so still
They don’t cut as deep as you deserve
Poetic license to hack, maim and kill

The porcelain flesh that enshrouds your remains
Was both my parchment and my muse
Now incarnadined with Ichor’s stains
The signs of wanton abuse

With trembling hand I penned these lines
As best I could well manage
I cruelly carved out these designs
What words are worth in tissue damage

Carving in crimson with scalpel and rasp
Sculpting your flesh into your epitaph
Your corpse tells its tale in blood, pus and grime
Spilling out secrets you should take to your tomb

A carnal epitaph perhaps best left unheard
The time has come to mince more than words
Parting words don’t often cut this deep
Engraved on your back, the secrets we’ll keep