future broken promises

when he showed up—

loud, bright,

full of future broken promises—

i welcomed him in.

hell, i cooked him dinner.

he said he’d marry me

on our second date.

i said,

yeah?

and smiled like a fool.

no one had ever looked at me

like i was worth keeping.

i didn’t have friends,

no close family.

i had empty rooms

and silence

to keep me company.

he called me beautiful

before i showed him who i was.

his red flags were confetti—

i threw them in the air, i cheered.

he took everything i gave—

my fears,

my past,

my silly little hopes—

and sharpened them into knives.

he smashed coffee pots,

hampers,

my face,

my spirit.

told me

this was love.

he didn’t break me fast.

he did it slowly, patiently, perfectly,

and blamed me

for standing too close.