Hunger

Image by pixel2013 from Pixabay

Warning: The below piece includes analogy to sexual assault, but makes no direct reference to or description of such.

I first thought it was in hunger
When I rose from the grave
And came to you.

Faster than life,
My haste causing ripples
In the still lake
Of your blithe, unknowing world.

I could not go elsewhere,
I could not turn back
And lie still;
I cannot run
From what I am.

It was not hunger,
But something darker,
Lower,
More urgent.

It was not a meal,
And you were not my prey;
It was an assault,
And you were my victim.

Desecrated,
Violated,
Spoiled,
By what I call my need,
Though it is not right
That I should be,
That I should need anything.

You didn’t see the truth when I smiled.
You didn’t want to heed the warning
Your second thoughts were…