she burned her cigarette
lips and truths into my
forehead, asked me to forget
forgiving and love
her.

there are lies branded into my skull:
she listens
it’s not her fault
it was an accident
she did it out of love

but the feeling still doesn’t compare to–
bruised knees biting bitter cement or
boiling water pouring down cheeks, or
dipping my fingertips in the grand
scheme of things.

she wants me to know how
she wails my name over telephone
cords, carves tallies into grey matter,
drips rubbing alcohol on my plate

waiting for me to
ignite again