And She Was

One morning as she was
Awake like crushed diamonds
Lighting in a million pin pricks
Of age racers
Boxcars
Age twelve
And growing pains

And one morning as she was
And she said, “I see potential”
Like love is an investment
To be traded
As commodities
Bridal
Though not virginal
We had been over it and over it
Like jackals
Scavengers
Birds mate while flying
Or
To be more accurate
Falling from the sky

And one morning as she was
Wind blew through the window
In sobs
Sucked its way in
Because
Nature abhors a vacuum
I learned the rules of this destruction
On amber shores
With crisp lines
The kind you snort up your nose
It was the year winter came twice
Three times
Lasted for years
And I shivered
And one morning as she was
She veiled her threats
Behind dripping sarcasm
A winking acknowledgement
That I couldn’t understand
Because all girls talk in codes
And I’m not a breaker
I’m a stretched canvas
That you can paint however you like
But the essence
Is
Broken
Broken hearted
Worn on my sleeve
For all to see
Like a child
Testing a mousetrap
Then another comforter
To keep the cold away
No more fits
On a rocking ship’s deck

And one morning she was
As waking life skips
Well worn
Along ruts
And was later penitent
For all that would follow
No bated breath
No sincere birds of prey
That inserted longing
Like a fluid in your spine
That lasts for your life
Until I finally expelled her
In shades of ever-gleaming
Green
The way the sky
Looks after a hail storm
And she was
A shining star
Beckoning
Bleeding in the way
That only stars can
Because the tide goes out once a day
But it also comes in