Staff Work
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