Featured Illustration: Emilia Khan

Trigger Warning: Abuse.

. . .

The way your hands move
As you gracefully go about
Light on your feet
And a sweet scent of flowers trails behind you

And every time you stumble
With every step making you wince
The limp in your light steps
The pain makes you tiptoe around

The sun shines when your lips curve
And it’s as if all good resides in you
In the way that your laugh
Just lights up the room

The crinkles that rest by your eyes
Comes visible when you smile
Its shadow holding more pain
Holding the secrets to a dark world

When they hold you close
And whisper promises in your ear
Filled to the brim with love & hope
You sigh, holding on tight

At night when you curl up on the couch
The TV plays blindly like white noise
As the empty promises echo in your head
You sigh, holding on a little tighter

The way your cheeks shimmer
And the perfect lines of eyeliner
That adorn your beautiful eyes
Always filled with wishes and wonder

The depth of your eyes
The look of your blackened soul
And bruised blue ribs
It haunts me to the core

The curves of your smile
It scares me for when your lips move
You’re like the brightest star in the sky
But behind it hides
All the screams and shouts of despair.