Red Flags And Butterflies

you went out for cigarettes

and convinced me that you’re not a smoker

and although I haven’t gotten it yet

you say, I’ll understand when I get older

I always fall, without looking back

so it came to me as a surprise

completely blindsided by your attack

out collecting red flags and butterflies

excited about love, I gave my heart away

forgetting I should read the manual

not wise enough to know that I should be afraid

I held a flame without using a candle

you found the keys to my soul

and carelessly took it for a drive

a master of lies and control

I barely made it out alive

when I learned to run, you made me crawl

the baby steps taken were hard, but important

the lesson I learned after surviving it all

is that love should come with a fire retardant