The Damage.

The damage occurred before you,

in places love ravaged my insides bloody,

with her claws and hunting knives pared

to a point that hungrily shred me to pieces,

making it  hard to remember

that I could be broken,

and somehow still feel whole.

 I open to you,

and my stomach feels a sharp twist

from ghosts of abandonment

that still haunt the architecture of my shell.

Unable to move away,

I am mesmerised by a chaos

that churns inside me,

held in place by the fear of

a hand pulled away,

eyes that no longer want to explore

my labyrinth.

And yet.

My heart whispers-

maybe this is different. She tells me

that you are not familiar in the same way

that the ones I have chosen before

have been,

that you have come to me

to help my chaos birth new galaxies,

and I can trust

the warmth of your touch,

your breath causing shooting stars

to spiral across my skin.

She says I have picked wisely,

that your tenderness is not a guise,

that this time, this experience,

could shatter the myth that I have invested in-

the belief that love

can only be shrouded in pain.

I am invited to dive in,

to a space we are neither holy,

nor sin...

will you come with me?

Innocence is my hand in yours,

wading into waters

that are as deep as they are foreign.