Ten

10. The piece you had of me.

I break the words
that fell from your mouth
into shapes, disjoint
every sound, every bend
into phonemes,
then into letters
sat on white page,
stretched into boxes,
don't seek
similarities between code and you,
how I tried
so long
to wrap my mind around
what and when and how and why,
that time
you didn't look me in the eyes,
that time you filmed the way I looked when trapped,
lapped at every second, every millisecond of it.
I don't try to understand now,
want a little kindness
for as long as I'm around,
a wall built around my soul
to keep you out -
Forgiveness is such a simple blessing,
I forgave you then,
and now too.
The spirit doesn't sit in distress anymore,
for I
don't need to understand why
nor how nor when nor what,
I need to know it won't happen again,
to gently and quietly set us both free.