Toxic Silence

Pull me out of the water;

my blood stains the ripples.

My cuts are open wide,

burning in the stained clarity

that imprisons me.

I open the dark red curves

that keep a thousand cries silent;

another cry remains silent,

locked in the back of my throat,

fearful of the nothingness it becomes

once it escapes my lips.

I close my eyes to take me home,

where my blood may drip into comfort,

where my cuts might slowly heal,

burning in the midst of love and care

as I cry, unafraid to be unheard.

Still, I cannot feign;

I thrash my arms and legs

between the blood-stained ripples

of my keeper until

my keeper is red;

I've left much unsaid.