Breathe in fire
Breathe out rain
Love the hurt
Become pain

i still think of you often
whether im with people or by myself
i think about the way you touched me
the way your warm pink lips felt against my collarbone

then i thought about what actually happened

i dont think of you often
neither by myself or with people
i think about the way you hit me
the way your warm pink lips sputtered those words

i hope i never think of you

-k

you relinquished your chains.
i didn't realize the alloy
turned your wrists green
and soured the feeling.

    i didn't realize you viewed them
    as shackles, and not the comfort
    endowed to you when i vowed
    to protect you just two months ago.

    i don't blame you.
        no, i can't. delicate birds
    don't like the clanking of cages,
        no matter how intricate
    the bars are constructed, and
how beautiful
the permanence
of a lock is

this feeling is not
symbiotic: you reduce
my core to nothing