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the venomous words that he muttered incoherently cut the deepest of wounds in my fragile flesh

i fought for him when i should not have

because he did not fight for me

 

and i know that the swelling in my cheek isn’t just a vague memory from yesterday

or the look of anger and frustration in his eyes

that had been building up for days

relentlessly shattering me like broken glass all over the floor

and it was no surprise that he didn’t even try to pick up the pieces

 

but when he left

i stayed behind

picking up and collecting what remained of my own pieces

because i promised myself

that this time

i would fight for me

for a change

 

– cm