You Cried

You didn’t expect to cry
Where others cry, you laugh for me
You ride on pain
It is like a dragon
Thrashing, turning
Trying to throw you
To burn you
You wrap your soul around it
Like a vise you cling to it
Bend it. Cool it
Like a wave, you ride the pain
Conquer it. Own it
Give it nothing

So you didn’t expect to cry for me
When you asked for the whip
You didn’t expect to cry
Just another kind of ride
Take it slow
No surprises
Teeth grind
Welts rise
But you didn’t expect to cry

Surprise

You take your strikes
You cling to the ride
But now you think
You just might cry
It is not the same
This wave of pain
You try. So hard you try
To laugh for me
And not to cry
But this ride is not the same
And this is not that pain
This pain you could not ride

And so you cried
Overwhelmed, you cried
In surrender, you cried
So vulnerable, your tears
Streaks, black and beautiful
“No more whip. Please?”
Unashamed, you plead
I nod. You smile
Relieved, you smile
And I dry your tears
From where you cried
From where you cried for me