literature

Keeping Us Broken

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WindFragments's avatar
Published:
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Literature Text

He had an affinity with bandages
Broken, punctured souls
Barely clinging to life
and ready to fall
Cradling them in his arms,
he sang them to sleep
And said he would protect them

He liked the taste of salt and copper
His tongue eagerly lapped it up
Within the cracks in the flesh
Wet, warm, dripping secrets
Tracing the etchings in the marred skin
And he said he would accept them

The black and the blue
Almost hidden from view
The words flowing through their veins
Crashing in their cluttered heads
Wanting to break free
Clogged windpipes, trembling lips
And he said he would say the words for them

I was one of them
A bird with faulty wings
It was oh so easy for me to fall
And for him to catch me
He found the darkness buried within the sands
And he said he would always be there for me

It made him feel better about himself
Kind, generous, caring
Coaxing broken souls out of their cages
Helping aching, starving beings breathe
Striving to save the unfortunate and the dehumanized
Not knowing that he was keeping us down
when he said he would help us fly

But when my stitches came off
And my scars weren't stinging with every movement
Eyes clear and voice loud
I knew that he knew
Because when I came back strong,
He threw me away

So I fell once more
My wings cracked when I hit the ground
Only when broken, beaten down,
languishing on the hard, cold floor
Did he come to take me back again
"Why did I go back?
The me he'll always be there for is the one that is broken."

Thanks for reading :)
Comments7
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RisenDork's avatar
This is a poem about a Narcissist. He actually never had intentions of helping you fly. He has all the other birds caught in their cages, too, with strings tied around their spindly legs, just in case they do manage to take to the air, so that he can drag them back down, and caress them into obsequious self-loathing, so that he may continue to make sport of you all. Wow. This is truly powerful stuff -- and it makes me wish for your sake that it is fictional, but I've known the Narcissist, so my guess would be that it's autobiographical, which I wouldn't wish on anyone, though the experience certainly makes for good poetry! Very nice work!