I remember those three words
twisting knots in my gut
Billowing over my self-proclaimed walls
of self-loathing. I didn't want to say it, but
the closer I got to you, the closer I became
to binding the rope of my social noose.

Those words festered at me like an infection and
I knew this truth would overtake me.
My heart ripped through flesh and fibers
until love was no longer in the closet,
but staring back at me through brown eyes.