Nightmare

Imagine not seeing tweaky tinkering for what it was,
Seeing the trap house as a mere gathering of misfits
In a home away from home where the house mom fed everyone,
And falling head over heels for a dopehead
In all his pathetic glory.

Imagine loving him with a madness
unrivaled by all of Shakespeare's visions
But still just as tragic.
Picture the pitying stares and all the "bless your heart" quibbles
that went unseen by my naive eyes.
Eyes that took in the sights with naked abandon
and painted a scene so romantic,
a thousand lies told over and over became truth.

Feel the dismay and betrayal felt when I finally hit the bottom
And saw that I, too, had become what I feared the most.
Sores spotted my once beautiful skin that was now stretched,
Dry, dull, and sad.
Sunken eyes grown swollen from crying
accented the burn in my throat
as it swelled shut from too many chemical drips
and lack of water.

Why did it take so much
for me to see so little?