I’m biting my tongue,

Enough to make me bleed,

Holding back all the words,

I should have said,

For you to understand,

The hurt you inflict.

All these thoughts,

Screaming in my skull,

It’s like I can’t get the words-

Quick enough for you to understand,

I’m hurting.

I’m sorry,

I have let you down, again.

I’ll try and fix it,

I’m patching up my pieces,

Fixing my smile,

I’ll be better,

Just promise me,

You’ll be patient.

Those words,

They’re like a hair-trigger,

The moment they leave your mouth,

I feel their barbed sting,

As if it were still a gift from him.

When you escape,

They never tell you-

What freedom entails,

The nightmares,

All the self-doubt,

Freezing at a word,

I thought I’d be free.

But I’m still haunted.

I’m alone on this island,

Everyone else gone ashore,

I sent them away, like I always do,

They shouldn’t see the wreck I leave,

In my storm.