the asphalt scrapes my knees
as he drags me along
bump
   bump
      bumping
against the rock strewn road
my head hangs low
my sweater is torn
and i'm naked from the waste down
   and *****
    very, very *****
he might think i'm dead
or at the very least, unconscious
whatever he feels
he doesn't show it
he just grips the strap
tied around my wrists tightly
having wound it once
   twice
   three times
around his own hands

i don't know where he's taking me
i don't remember where i've been
  
and
there's no use fighting it
even if i had any fight left

i'm beyond humility
i feel no shame
the only thing that tells me i am alive
is the pain
the constant, raw, exposed
deeply embedded
pain.