I Can't Take Back What I Said

A poem I wrote about my partner.

Someone asked me what we are, 

And my reply was woefully inadequate. 

I said, ‘We are friends, we are lovers,

We are each other’s little secrets.’

I should have said, ‘He is a bandage

For a wound I don’t remember being 

Inflicted and a salve I don’t have 

The strength to say no to.’

I should have said, ‘We are a collision 

Of fragments. I found his teeth in my 

Ribcage this morning, rattling around 

with every heartbeat.’

I should have said, ‘He had blood 

Smeared around his lips when he smiled,

And when I took the photos that I 

Will one day burn.’

I should have said, 'I am afraid of this’.