You were not salt disguised as sugar
And I did not have a blood-stained veil
Draped across my forgetful eyes—
I tasted how bitter you were,
And I understood the iron on my tongue.
You tried to gouge my eyes out
But I still felt your poison on my lips.
I did not spit you out like you feared I would
—I waited until you rotted in the pit of my stomach
And the only way to rid myself of you
Was letting the bile rise in my throat—
But I welcomed the disgusting taste
Of the salty acid that polluted my body.
I swallowed every drop of infected blood
Because I knew it would destroy me.
