Open Minded

Duplicitous

There was a time when

things weren't so complex. 

A time when life was mild,

mellow, and soft.

There was a time before I met you.

Everything was simpler then.

My radiance wasn't artificial.

My smile was genuine. My strength

was whole.

After our first encounter, everything changed.

You made me believe 

that it was okay for 

you to treat me this way. I was 

powerless, but content. I was 

ignorant, yet aware. You pushed me

down to the ground, and I allowed it.

I whipped my own back and asked

for dominion at your feet. I took the 

blame for your blunders. I savored 

your scars. The bruises felt safe on 

my skin. Your words, I absorbed; Much

like an inquisitive child. 

The blood on

my body dried like paint. Your lies, I

consumed, like a predator after its humble

prey. Throughout each day my heart and

mind to war. My heart told my to inhale the

blissful toxicity. My mind told me to get out,

get out, GET OUT.

But I remained.

I stood by you and I barricaded you. I

lingered for 212.917 days, believing that

I was happy. Believing that the altercations,

though frequent, were normal. 

Did you know that I still feel the sting on my skin?

Did you know that I still feel like your prisoner?

Did you know that I was once whole?

Thanks to you, I am in pieces.

Thanks to you, I am left alone to pick up those pieces.

Thanks to you, I am broken.

Broken, but free.