here we go again
i **** my head
and ready my
mouth to fire
back
rebuttals.

the smoke of
silence,
following
your verbal
onslaught
pours through
my pores
and pulls
my
trigger.

the anger-driven
bullets
fly fast and
pick apart
your metal
heart.

your eyes grow
heavy and shaky.

there's sorrow and
violence tucked behind
them.

part of me is
frightened.

part of me
is aching
for return
fire.

your volley is
scattered.
as if you are grasping
for straws.
desperate to wreck
me
for the
sheer
drama
of the event.

i drop my gun.
give peace a chance, i suppose.
i turn, decide
it's
time
to
go.

but before i retreat
you ask me,
"how many others have you said
i love you to?

this is you at your most masochistic.
the answer is an automatic grenade
to the heart.
you know that.
yet you ask that.

"four"
i lie.
the number is much higher.

"who were they?"

god,
you're just asking
for it.

i **** my head
and we go
to war.