fox

I’m not sure how to write about you,

without revealing how bitter and angry I am.

But maybe that’s what I need to write about.

You created a callous

around the edges of my heart

and made it impossible for me

to love anyone else.

Now, I’m ripping and clawing

at the layers and layers

I so desperately need

freedom from.

You weren’t always

a curse I needed

to break.

You were once

a prince that I thought

was charming.

I remember the nights at

three AM, when you would hold me

and tell me that I was important

and worth making sacrifices for.

I remember the weeks

of torture that you would

put my heart through.

With every denial I gave

you said another sweet word

to fight your way past.

“If you loved me...

You wouldn’t say no.”

“I’ll fix everything.”

“I promise.”

“I love you.”

You are the sly fox that no one can catch.

No one knew just how terrible you could be.

No one knew that you and I were not meant to be together.

No one knew how conniving and manipulative you were.

And even still,

you are the fox

I refuse to encounter

again.