I cuff our wrists together
and tell myself
you're deciding to stay

Let me hug you.
Let me console you.
Let me take care of you.

"Are you in pain?"

If one considers love to be a poison,
Does that mean that if after enough doses,
The patient will develop an immunity?
Assuming of course that the doses aren't lethal,
Which is sometimes the case.

i remember she used to always tell me, it's okay to cry.
she gave me that look that said everything. as if she was silently telling me than it was okay to not be okay, to be broken, to be absolutely destroyed.
i'll always remember that side hug and proud look. the hand squeeze and happy tone in her voice when she boasted about me.
i'll remember everything now that you're gone.

today,
i wore it again
and people complimented me
they say red is my color
and it suits me.

today,
it's too thick and dark
did i overapply
no, it's the right amount
just enough
to make them think
i'm fine.

today,
i look at myself
in the mirror,
and they're right
red shines on me,
so i applied
another layer,
and another
until my lips felt too thick,
but my eyes still see
the scars beneath it.