Cold Silence

          They leave my hands a little cold


   like the monster that lives inside them

But I don’t shiver, or shake, or tremble

They call me names I’ve never heard before

and look at me with eyes, I never knew could grace mine

                                                        so I give it up for them

                                                        I give it all up for them

I let the monster take my hand

and let us dance on their living room floor

                                            but when the lights switch off

                                           and all we have is cold silence

                                                                              I whimper

                                                                    but only slightly

                                                                     and only in fear

                                                             that they’ll leave me

because my monster doesn’t know

                                                 what it's like to be touched

                                                       what it's like to be seen

but when they leave my hands a little cold

                                    I don’t shiver, or shake, or tremble

                                                             I give it up for them

                                                        I give it all up for them

Scarlet

It's been a while since I’ve seen my face

only ever distant eyes looking back at me

but I can't seem to look away

or wash away this stain

the stain on my forehead

that marks me

that scars me

that shames me

calling me names

causing me to stay silent

but how do I wash away

the only thing that feels like home

the only thing that feels real but maybe if I scrub

and scrub

leaving my face red

at least I'll know why I burn

when i think of you

A broken home

You claim to hate where you are now

like you live alone in the home you call ours

but you buy candles for me to light

you put up shelves for all my books

and you paint the walls my favorite color

                                       you don’t complain or throw a fit

                                                  but I hear your sighs echo,

                                     from your empty side of the room

                                                               the side you chose

                               after you picked the best side for me

I give you space

you say you don’t need

but you don’t notice

when I can’t seem to string a sentence together

because I don’t know how to speak to you

You say you wish things were different

like the life we have was built on sand

but I call your name when I cry

and you hold my shoulders

when I need you

you don’t fuss and you don’t whine

but you built a home