you spoke with your back turned
like nothing was wrong
the kettle sat screaming
its blistering song
your eyes crack with thunder
I don’t look away.
I taste every stormcloud
and swallow the rain
you asked if I loved you
then smirked at the floor
i said it too slowly,
you moved for the door
We fought in the hallway,
your knuckles went red.
You hit without blinking
and meant what you said.
you find every fracture
then press where it stings
You say, “it’s devotion,”
and tighten your strings.
You lean in, now limping,
your voice raw and rough.
We clutch like survivors
who'd suffered enough.
Your hands then remember
what you never confessed,
you kiss where you hurt me
and ask for the rest.
but still, when you’re shaking,
and all fury’s gone,
I gather your pieces
and whisper a song
I stitched up the silence
you gave me to keep
and rocked us together
til sorrow found sleep
We curled in the ash
what didn’t survive,
and found even ruin
leaves something alive.
