My tongue bears the weight

of taste buds that look like

cracked hearts spelling your name.

There’s a flame in my throat,

burning from the feathers

you plucked from the wings

that once made my heart soar,

but I don’t choke up tears of

wishing you were here.

I suffocate on the weakness

you nailed into my bones

with your broken hammer

promises and plastic nails

that told lies on my skin.

There are days I can’t breathe

when I remember the sweetness

laced smile you used to shine

for only me and the sugar glazed

look in your eyes turned sour.

I wanted to write about the ease

you used when you broke me,

but I’ll never write the words

that anyone broke me.

I can’t boost your ego by letting

you believe you had that power

or any power at all over me.

You were a tightrope

I was never afraid to walk,

the echo of a roar from the mouth

of a pissed off lion, the sky that turned

from a starry night painted dream to

a nightmare on the street of my storm.

I walked your tightrope with my hands tied,

when the breath of your roar

tried to cut through my heart,

my roar was loud enough

to shatter yours,

and the sky that you pretended to paint

was never more than an empty canvas

I painted my thunder on.

So you never broke me, darling.

My love was the storm

that made your knees weak

with your own broken hammer

and you ran for your life,

seeking shelter in the plastic sky

of your worst fucking nightmare

you won’t wake up from.

The weight on my tongue

is my own thunder’s roar,

lashing out lightning you can’t see,

because your sky is a lie

that didn’t fall for those broken

feathers you tried to feed me.

I’m breathing the moonlight.

My heart soars with the stars

you can’t make wishes on

and the night tastes like honey,

a thickness that coats the flames

in my throat to set fire again

to the dreams in my eyes.

© Stephanie Bennett-Henry

Stephanie is a Southern Girl through and through. Sweet as candy, sharp as a blade, and talented beyond measure, Stephanie’s poetry is raw, unfiltered, and unforgettable. You can find her exquisite words at Stephanie Bennett-Henry, on Instagram and on her website.