He gives me a lighter
As a parting gift
After a year of cigarettes and perfume and absinthe and
Pleas for silence
He gives me a lighter
He is leaving soon and
I will never see him again
His mouth will not curl into a grin as he whines
in my ear
His hands will not reach for my skin
He is leaving soon and
I will never receive another late night call
Another drunk-high-lonely-needssomeonetovalidatehim call
Some days
I answer because I do not want to upset this boy
The boy who possesses no qualms with objectification
I still have moments when I do not remember that
I am allowed to take up space
That my voice can be used and
It can be heard
And if this boy has not earned the privilege of my presence on
The other line
Then he will not have it
He cannot have my voice or the scent of my absinthe scented breath
Breathing liquor, the price of my silence
I am not silent anymore
In mindless conversation he forgets his place
And I put him in it
I am strong and do not accept his offerings
I will not be his shrine
I will not be his late night calls and I will not
Take cigarettes from him anymore
He gives me a lighter as a
Parting gift
I use it to burn the letter he wrote me
Apologizing for everything he did wrong
He never meant those words
But I,
I mean it when I feed them to the flames.
YOU ARE READING
We Write for Fear of Silence
Poetry{My soul put into words. Writing is how I put myself back together again. Writing is how I love.} **all poems are mine** HIGHEST RANKING: #30 IN POETRY & #1 IN TEEN POETRY
