I kissed your chaos once,

tongue tracing the edges of your jagged promises,

swallowed your fire like it could save me,

but it burned holes in my throat,

Now I’m unable to scream.

You were a hymn in reverse,

words stitched backwards on my brain,

Needle and thread,

a drug I thought was medicine,

but now I see the needle’s rust.

Love is a liar with a venomous tongue,

I remember the taste of poison on your lips.

Your hands carved infection into my skin,

the lines between passion and punishment blurred,

Like rain on a cracked windshield.

I hated you, softly at first,

like a shadow lurking at the edges of the sun.

But now, that hatred brings me to my knees,

Drowning the stars in the blackest night.

You devoured me like a disease.

Every “I love you” was a loaded gun.

Each kiss, a trapdoor.

I fell through and kept falling,

until numbness caught me like a safety net

woven from the fibers of your lies.

You were beautiful once,

But even love must crumble into hate,

Every rose must decay,

and thorns will still draw blood,

Long after the pedals fade and fall.