There's this pressure on my chest
Like someone smothering my will
And the expanse of my lungs
With their suffocating presenceThick and oppressive
Burning me, like acid
Acrid, you leave a bitter taste
In my mouthA sickness that makes my skin itch
I want to rip myself apart
Just to temper the discomfort
The wrongness of existingYou feed the terrified child in me
The one who so blindly trusted
In the safety of your familiarity
The one you tore choice and power fromNow I'm tethered to the past and to you
Chained to your presence
You're the ghost that haunts me
The figment that creeps in unbidden
Turning my world inside outYou still hold all the power, even now
I feel imprisoned by the consent you stole from me
To you I'm just a pretty puppet, a rag dollBut I was the prey
And you, were the predator
YOU ARE READING
trigger points.
PoetryA collection of my original poetry/prose from 2006 onwards. Warnings: these poems deal with mental illness, including mentions of self harm, suicide, emotional anguish and abuse. Please do not read if you might be triggered by such content.