i've always loved like a dog,

running my trembling fingers through your long hair,

brittle with cold, sinking deep into bone, using you to warm me up.

I can tell there's nothing left for you here.

your days are done, you're rejected by all,

yet i still cling to your sonnets, your woes,

akin to a freezing sick puppy, teething softly

i gnash and rip at any affection i see, infiltrating your bone marrow,

scratching at your vocal cords –

I'm a submissive being, the gold star woman,

don't you feel like you've finally succeeded?

you have already caged me, your work is done,

you're a living apricity, an aphrodite mid collapse —

yet i always spill too soon

your skin is as soft as a thorned rose, illusory alabaster

your crimson blood is all i feel, all i take in,

there's nothing more than you that matters anymore, no matter what you are

how you act

how you inflict —

but i'll wag my tail, show you my teeth, call you my darling —  give you my love

ill roll to my stomach, the obedient girl i am –

brand your name into it – darling.

make me bleed, make me weep,

im just your kenneled pup

who will always settle for less

je t’aime d’une douleur infinie,

i've always loved like a dog