like a thunderstorm
she grew louder
louder
and shook the ground around me
a roar of noise and movement
electric
before
spent
the room grew quiet again

my eyes never stop seeing
even when I sleep
they view the insides of my eyelids
luckily your smiling face is there

her life is like a book
pages tattered and torn
sometimes brittle from time
and wear and abuse
but it pulls me in
word
after
word
and i won’t put it down
as others have
before me
because i know
the next page
will excite me more
than the last

I love him, she says
I believe her
he can change, she says
and I don’t
it’s his past, she claims
and I know it
he needs me, she cries
and she’s right
it’s abuse, I say
she agrees, yes
it won’t stop, I say
and she knows
he’s controlling, I plead
and she sees it
it’s toxic, I sigh
and she cries
you can leave, I say
and she says, yes
but it’s hard, she says
and I nod
but you must, I whisper
and she sighs
but I love him, she says
I believe her