Another date, another boyfriend.
Giving support to a woman
While wanting encouragement
From a mother.
Another day of cleaning
She scrubbed alone.
"You are loved."
Then darkness hissed
And let in by fear
Demolished that belief.
Awakened by slight movement.
A memory returned
Of his callous hands
In which she sought protection
A look! and assumed desire resumed.
"You are loved."
Then darkness hissed
And was let in by shame
Which demolished that belief.
Tears dripped down fair cheeks.
A friend knelt by
Who held her trembling hand
Revealing fresh slits
Across slim wrists.
"You are loved."
But darkness hissed again,
Let in by doubt,
It demolished that belief.
A drink could take it all away?
A few drinks had changed a lot;
That temporary distracting thought.
She inhaled a new scent
And registered such hunger.
She said, "I will be loved."
The darkness hissed
And she clutched tightly to her swelling belly
To protect her child against the pain.
The pain it brought to feel
Forgotten and rejected.
For secrets cannot be remembered
If they are not known.
Mistakes cannot be recalled
If they are not acknowledged.
"I will be loved."
Let in by hope was light,
Who whispered, "You are."
-Kaitlan Waycott
