Breath is such a simple thing
Pure, untainted air
that was, before you walked in with your contaminated whisper of wind.
I breathed you in unconscious that the only thing I would be exhaling was the silent goodbyes to all my friends as I conceal myself for you to keep.
You made a garden of dispute and I suffocated in it until the only thing I could breathe in was the words of you telling me that it was all my fault.
I remember telling you I loved flowers
You must have thought I meant the kind in which thorns thrust into my throat so much that I bled the words “I’m sorry” to you as if they were my first,
and you were so proud.” ✨