She said he hurt her,  
a wound wrapped in soft lullabies,  
his voice a serpent  
coiling 'round her dreams,  
where the green fern forest  
breathed secrets into the night,  
and moss shrouded the bones  
of forgotten civilizations.

In the day,  
she fashioned dreams  
like delicate glass,  
eyes half-closed,  
floating through the crowd,  
a specter among the living,  
while shadows,  
like whispered promises,  
clung to her skin.

At night,  
the seconds drip drop,  
heavy as rain on a tin roof,  
each tick a heartbeat,  
each pause a gasp,  
he follows her  
as a prayer follows its own  
search for grace,  
the memory of a violence  
that needed no voice,  
only the cold embrace  
of silence wrapped around her.

In the twilight,  
she gathers the frayed edges of her soul,  
sifting through the dark  
for remnants of light,  
for the lullabies  
that cradle her in the depths,  
reminding her that even in shadows,  
the heart learns to beat again,  
even in the echo of pain,  
there is a flicker,  
a stubborn flame.

A laugh, a tear—  
what do we do with this cold world?  
She asks for so little,  
yet the air thickens with unspoken anger,  
a toll from a long week,  
severe and heavy,  
as if life itself demands a final request.  

Promises of sweet slumber,  
the kind that cradles the soul,  
shattered by lingering conversations,  
each word a delicate thread,  
pulled taut by a plea that feels whimsical.  
Fear, that insidious creature,  
wraps its tendrils around her heart,  
craving comfort,  
a whisper of security amid chaos.  

Why weave such doubts into the fabric of love?  
Why not simply exist,  
free from the weight of dominance?  
Old-fashioned beliefs linger like ghosts,  
it was merely a treat,  
a gesture of affection—  
can't you see?  

Letting go feels like breathing underwater,  
the pressure rising,  
and still, I reach out,  
a decorated veteran of this emotional war.  
A gift, tenderly offered,  
but you chose to turn away,  
clouding the tender moments  
that could burst forth with joy.  

I’m sorry for this weight,  
for the burden you perceive,  
but all I seek is connection,  
even as the world spins cold  
without you beside me.