I look at you with a lens of hate

I look at you with a lens of hate

stretched through stories, equations

constructed by our shattering.

Y=mx,

the slippery slope between why and

my ex; cosmic laws

found me on a comet to Mars

searing, blistering, torching red.

Fragile relationships

are still

relationships

structured into sensations, equations

through which I create my own prejudices.

-

I try to forget

the fluffy red velvet cake from the bakery we loved.

You'd bring it home and heat it in our microwave,

crumbs of white icing fell

melting, bubbling, drying into brown specks

reminders, still stuck to the glass dish.

Every night, I scrub my skin

until velvet.