I bought a one-way ticket to rock bottom again

Because I was feeling homesick

And the only cure to the virus was to lie, curled up in the fetal position, missing the warmth of my mother’s womb.

Before sentience—

Before awareness—

I was at peace.

And I didn’t know what love was.

The stinking, rotting love

That oozed from a festered wound,

The imprint of the brute’s teeth

Left to beat black and blue

Where my heart was a ticking time bomb.

I kept pushing back the explosion—

Waiting for the stars in his eyes to grant my greatest wish.

I did not ask for good luck

Or infamy—

But contentment.

A man who is walking sunshine,

Warming my body, cold from its grave.

On the third day, he told me he loved me,

And I rose.