POETRY

She Lives

She lives, she lives, she lives.

Image by cottonbro studio via Pexels.

There still lives a child behind this face.
When your tone shifts, when your eyes grade my obedience
And your teeth bare with barely-swallowed anger
There still lives a child —
She measures the decibels in your screams
Sets her alarm to the sound of profanity
"Fucking loser"
Just behind the door.

She daydreams about warm arms
A kiss to the forehead
A mother’s impromptu bedtime story
She counts her days backward
Living between blue moons —
The rare times
When one day felt kinder than the next.

There still lives a child within this stoic face
These calloused expressions
When your heart cracks open for two milliseconds
For me, for once,
Only if my shame makes your ego preen
Only if you broke the mirror of my face
And mended it with my tears.