Allison Gates Poet Free verse

Greedy Men

Here they come. 
Hungry eyes like open mouths.
Lusting.
Taking. Taking. Taking.
Their hands never tremble with doubt,
only demand more of me.

I know my place, a vessel,
a thing to be filled and emptied,
again and again and again.
They reach for me like I owe them my breath,
and I give it,
I’ve forgotten what it feels like to keep something for myself.

Whenever they want.
There is no adoration here.
No questions asked.
I am pliant. I am present.
I am pliant. I am present. 
They leave me hollow,
less careful each time they use me, 
Like I’m already broken.
Am I already broken?

Stained with their sweat and seed,
I try to scrub the stench of them from my skin,
but it clings
a film of all the times I mistook greed for love.

I want to wake up,
but this isn’t a nightmare.
This is just the life I’ve lived.
And somewhere beneath my ruined temple,
a quiet voice still whispers
You were never meant to be consumed.

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