kid games
(when) I was little;
he tore the tendons right out of my heart,
fingernails scraping against muscle, sinew.
chewed it up and spat it back -
barbed wire. all hard edges and sharp hooks.
serrated my teeth and burned my tongue,
that’s how I learned to live.
even a laugh is ugly, a threat, a defence.
stay away from these bones and flesh,
I will tie knots in the wire,
bite it into two,
spit it right back as he did, right back at you.