We only know the love we teach ourselves.

Spiderwebs of doubt lace between my lips
like the lies that tie themselves into vines,
hang from the bottom of your tongue.

We are both rotten.
I wish we knew this before we decided to ruin each other.

We only know the love we experience.

I coughed dirt from my lungs, called it devotion.
You pried my thighs open with claws, called it ***.

We only know the love others have shown us.

Your chest is not a place where I belong.
You let me sit in a grave for years.
My hands were not a home for your heart.
I let you trust me.

We should have known we would be each other's ghosts.
From that very first touch, my fingers trailing over the icy skin of your knuckles,
your lips brushing against my hollow cheeks,
we should have known we would haunt each other.

we only know the love we have seen.

but can't you see?
We tear each other apart.

We say we love each other,
but the only sound in the room is teeth tearing the skin off bones,
the sound of blood steadily dripping on a hardwood floor,
the shudder and heave of
one last breath.