Down Easy

A cigarette burns brightly between us,
Slurred laughter ignites around us,
A cry, flesh cuts into flesh, and red stains the sheets between us.
"She should have kept her legs close," "She should know better," "Why did she wear that?"
"She was asking for it," "She seduced him,"
Broken and mending pieces beyond repair,
Heart pierced and the trust once worn on her cheek,
Drained. Emptied.
Awake once more and unsaved from the corrupted shame that runs through her,
How she hates Death for not allowing her passage.
Soft skin now raised and her only solstice is in the rain,
Washing away the burning, phantom grips on her body.
Every anniversary, a numbing reminder. Every birthday, an excruciating cut deeper than any slice she's ever made. And every time she blinds and ices herself to forget the pain, but she remembers it all.