In order to tame something wild
you must first break it.

and I have never been tamed,
but I've been broken many times.

I have a wild spirit
from here and beyond

but you pull on my reigns,
and I oblige to your wishes,
even though my insides scream out in defiance,
wanting to tell you no, never.
I deserve to be treated better.

but my heart's rock hard ice
melts at your guilty expression,
and the pain in your eyes
and your voice
and I don't want my pain
to be the cause of yours.

so you throw your jacket,
and the aggression behind it makes me flinch,
and you tell me "I won't hurt you,"
as calmly as I think you could.
and I apologize

and you tell me I've done nothing wrong,
and I apologize again

because maybe I did deserve to be demeaned
in that round-about way
and then I have to stop myself
from the dangerous thoughts
the running away coursing through my veins
screams at me.

I'm no good for you
I'm too much for you
I should leave and never come back
you deserve someone so much better

because maybe it's true.
you deserve someone who doesn't look at every flirtatious ***** and thoughtless action as a threat to what we have.

but maybe I deserve to be reassured,
and maybe I deserve to be treated with thought and care.

and maybe you can do that.

I guess we'll work on it.

but maybe I'm not so broken
if I can tell you this.