every five to seven years,
the human body is able to
develop an entirely new
set of taste buds.

every seven to ten years,
the human body is able to
replace every single skin cell
with a completely new one.



this means that one day,
not too far away from now,

I will have a body that
your fingers never touched

and a mouth that never
tasted the bittersweet lies
resting on your bottom lip.



one day, not too far from today,
the feeling of your fingerprints
will no longer linger on my skin.

the photos of you will no longer
make my skin crawl, and
tears of shame and regret
will no longer form in the
corners of my eyes.



my body will be mine again,
and you will have no control
over any part of me.

my brain will be full
of only my thoughts,
and not the thoughts that
you trained me to think.

my skin will be touched
only by those who I trust,
and you will never be
granted that ability.

I will reclaim my power
and my sense of self

and one day, when I hear it,
your name will mean nothing.

you will mean nothing.
I will be myself again.
totally, unapologetically myself.


isn't that comforting?