i remember how her diaphanous eyes
pierced my heart
and let the blood run dry

i remember how her delicate warmth
enraptured my body
and coated my fears

i remember how her soft voice
broke my mind
and stole away my tears

   then she forgot

i remember the blade
serrated like a key
twisting and turning
struggling to unlock my life
to set it free, to release it
to take it away
to make it go away

i remember the blood
darker than fetid tar
seeping and flowing
struggling to leave my cistern
to break free, to escape
to exit forever
to never return

   but no

I remember him
lay in his permanent bed
spoke these phrases
thought I was mad
till I saw other faces

still, I know not how
he conversed with me
but I remember
turning ‘round and seeing
one little girl staring at he