home
Take me out back,
I'll face the other way,
Lay me on the floor,
Help me gain my balance,
So you can hurt me more.
Treat me like a dog,
kick me till I bleed,
Watch me come back to you,
And lay at your feet.
Call it love,
call it loyalty,
call it anything
but what it really is—
a craving to be needed
even in the breaking.
I bite my tongue
until it forgets language,
just to make room
for your silence.
Every bruise is a blueprint
of where I’ve learned to kneel,
and every apology
is just a leash
you know I’ll hold
between my teeth.
I tell myself:
maybe pain is just proof
that I still feel,
and maybe feeling
is the only way
you’ll ever see me.
So go on—
build your throne
from the bones I hide.
I’ll crown you with my guilt,
and call myself lucky
just to be near.
Copyright © Shay Storey | Year Posted 2025
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