It's only when I first wake
That the world has teeth.
Fangs.
Throughout the day their venom dulls the pain but ah-
That tiny hiccup of time
When my eyes first open and I feel
Consumed...
It takes all day long to fully recover.
It's only in the very morning-
On the cusp of waking-
That your silence, your distance
Sinks its teeth into the tender skin of my neck.
"It's been days,"
Words rush through my veins
Poisoned by the possibility of truth.
"She regrets you."
And that moment....
It ruins me.
And inside I curl up and wither,
Dusty and dry and brown,
An ugly, wretched thing-
And then I throw the covers off
And slap my vulnerable feet
On the frozen floor.