No, my heart did not beat faster
When I caught that glimmer in your eyes
No, it is not a home for secrets masqueraded in laughs
Nor a drunken love in disguise

No. My pillow is not a rainforest
Holding my tears, my cries
And I am certainly not enamoured enough
To suffer the low lows, climb the high highs

Of course I do not expect the universe
To let your whimsical words actualize
No. I do not whisper your name in the dark,
When the fear intensifies

No. I do not want to hear your voice
Your cheers of victory or exasperated sighs
The tears keep rolling down my face
I guess I'm good at telling lies.

When he comes home and tears a piece of you away like chipping wood of a bark
And tells you you’re not good enough, "You’re really not that smart"
Refuses to walk out of the way when you're crossing his path
And leers at your skin like you're a worn piece of art
Touches your body and calls you scarred
But if the sight of another man's eyes made my body unclean
Is the dirt from my body or those eyes that seen?
When he slams a fist in your face like its an old punching bag
Drags you by the hair like an overused rag
When he forces his way into you "It wasn’t that bad"
Why is he allowed to operate heavy machinery
When the sight of my naked legs can drive him mad
"She must have been asking for it" "They're meant for breeding"    
I am sorry the sound of my NO was so misleading
"Know your place" he says, women can't be leading
Remind him
That everything he can do, you can do bleeding
Remind him who you are and for what you are known
A force of nature that cannot be owned
The one they compare to the warships and the black widow
With the rage of the fire and the ice of the snow
Remind him.
That your storm will break his bravado if you just blew
For hurricanes were not named after him.
They're named
after
You.

Enough rope to keep me hanging onto nothing

Enough hope to keep me wishing we were something