i will never
forget looking out
that second story window

hearing the
pool filter
in the background
mixed with heavy breathing

the cheetah print
sheets that cut
my skin open

the smell of marlboro golds
and sweat
with a hint of hopeful regret
filled that entire bedroom
that summer day

but most of all

it was that feeling
that i would rather risk
breaking both legs
jumping from the window

than deal with this pain

ever

            a g a i n

i will never forget that day
walking away from one another
on the corner of the street

struggling to catch my breath
struggling to even breathe
struggling to catch my words

i begged you
for months
and months
days upon days

to get your **** together
to give up drinking
to give up all the women
to give up all the rumors
to give up this small city
to give up this lifestyle

but
you could not
you chose not

you hurt me so bad
i started to write again
because it was the only thing
you left me with

after you ripped my heart
straight out of my chest
i swore that day
that i would
never
ever
care about someone
the way i did for you

i promised myself
i would never
trust a man
the way i did for you

but then he came
into my life
so unexpected
so gracefully
so delicately

now here i am
almost a year later
trying to fight that
promise i made to myself

a g a i n

i am sitting here
on my living room floor
crying
begging
praying
to have a chance
with you again

I am not so sure
I ever believed in a God
up until now

please
give me a chance
I beg you
please

how the ****
am i suppose to describe
the hands around my neck
and the anger in bones

how the ****
am i suppose to communicate
and express all the words
i’ve dreamed of saying

but can’t

because there’s a rock
of stone stuck
in between my esophagus
a rock of stone
that has seeped into my heart
and turned it solid

unable to yell
unable to scream
unable to cry
unable to breathe

i was 7 years old
when my world
came crashing down

what was once
a life filled
with color
with light
with happiness
with love

turned
dark
cold
sharp
dull

i have been fighting
the last 19 years
to fight back
to get her back
to feel again

i was just a child
when everything
was taken from me
without my consent

i will make her proud
i will be okay again
i will love again
i will be gentle again

i was just a
                     c h i l d

i thought I could
sink myself
in fake emotion
that it would
drown everything out

i thought maybe
enough fake words
to the world
would make me
forget all the numbness
life has offered me

i never realized
til now
at 25

i am drowning

within silence
within myself
within the pain of my past

i am d r o w n i n g