Precipice

My ghosts in the dark always take the shape of you

They linger in corners I thought I outgrew

Beyond the bruises and the scars of you

At twenty-three, I had no clue

I learned to silence myself to keep peace

Learned love shouldn’t come with conditions or teeth

You said time would soften the ache

But time just showed me what I escaped

By twenty-nine I carried away my baby

Fought tooth and nail just to save me

Clawed my way out of the grave you dug

With shaking hands, the truth I couldn’t make her stay for love

I stood at the precipice, finally free

A transformation born out of grief

I wish you knew how much you shaped this

Your manifestation of the scarred, and the fierce

You don’t hear the echoes, the copies of pain

Reflections in time still whisper your name

They knock in my chest when the nights get long

Like broken bells in an old church song

I needed someone to help me heal

But you picked at scabs just to watch me bleed

You called it honesty, called it truth

But cruelty dressed up is still abuse

By twenty-nine I carried away my baby

Fought tooth and nail just to save me

Clawed my way out of the grave you dug

With shaking hands, the truth, I couldn’t make her stay for love

I stood at the precipice, finally free

A transformation born out of grief

I wish you knew how much you shaped all this

The woman I am—the scarred, the fierce

I don’t hate you

I survived you

And you’re still blinded by the lies you grew

You tried to break me down to bone

But I grew roots where you left stones

Now the ghosts still come with your face and don’t stay

I didn’t fall—I learned to fly

From the edge you pushed me to leave it all behind

I stood at the precipice, looked down, then through

And found the life for us that never needed you

My ghosts in the dark still look like you

But they don’t own me

They never do