It didn't hurt when you drove the dagger into my heart.

Only did it hurt when you left me to pull it out by myself.

you shake your head
and chuckle

as if the thought of
me without you
is an impossibility

*i am a woman
an unshakable force

my thoughts are mapped
like constellations
throughout the stars

i am a woman
my iron will stands strong

my happiness
depends on no one
but myself

i am a woman
complete and whole

i am not a
broken machine
who needs fixing

you can laugh that laugh
and roll your eyes

but i do not want you
and certainly
i do not need you

because no matter what
*i am a woman

I hate myself for my persistence
and I despise you for being so dense
but only you and your existence
could give me such happiness.

this tea is bitter.
i may have bit off
more than i can chew.
a bit of rhinovirus, or other,
is more or less my invitation
to morgue.

by morning i may be adorned in plastic.
stuffed in a bag in mortuary.
a toe tag to keep me unique
amongst random John Doe's.

what'll my obituary read?
he died of poetry..
the kings of the world decided
this one needed to be silenced.

land **, i say..
i spy my old home.
from across a great ocean,
I'll arrive in the bay
and depart my boat.

my trusty old dinghy.

I'll fall to my knees
and kiss the sand,
promising to return again
to the violent seas
that repeatedly
wash me ashore.

i remember this place
from a long, long time before.

it's as gorgeous as i remember..

..

.