at first, you were two burnished
roses, so pure and bright that i
thought you were made of gold.

you were spiritual parents to me &
taught me right from wrong, and told
me that i wasn't good enough, but that
you were great enough for all of us.

you placed a dunce cap on my head,
but you painted them gold and called them
crowns, and i believed you, you coward.

you kissed my brow, sweetly, softly,
like a vampire caresses his victim's neck,
before he plunges deep & ***** the red
from their veins.

you cradled my throat in your claws
and told me that no one else was
on my level, that no one else
could get this close to you.

i told you i dreamed of becoming a
writer, you told me to burn my journals.
i told you i dreamed of becoming a
painter, you told me to trash my brushes.

i gave you the key to my secret dreams,
to my most vulnerable place, & you
swallowed it whole, like a greedy sparrow.

for 3 years, you dangled my stolen heart
in front of me, & laughed as i chased it like
the hog-tied mule that i had become.

then one day, you got lazy & you slipped
up, you fool, you left the key & my heart
on that pedestal you brazenly sit upon.

i took it back, i swallowed my heart &
unlocked my spirit, free at long last,
and saw that you were the Wizard of Oz,
hiding behind your ratty curtains.

i laughed & i cried, when i realized
what a fool i had been, how childish
i had been, to willingly give you
my life.

you were nothing but stones dipped
in glistening blood, drained from the
blind people you feast upon, you glutton.

you broke my spine & you tried to
**** my spirit, but you didn't know,
I am the Phoenix Rising, &
you will not hold me any longer.