I was not a woman
he could hold
i was a doorway
And he walked through me
like a plague

with blood on his boots
and a smile made of cruelty

he said
"i don't believe in heaven"
but when he touched me
his hands trembled
like he'd just seen god

our love was not a home
it was a cathedral
built on a cliff
where we lit candles
out of each other's
grief

when he kissed me
my mouth filled
with glass and grave dirt
i opened for him
like a wound
like a vow
like a tomb
he should never have touched

he said i was dangerous
And still
He drank me
like holy water
poisoned
in a drought
he never meant to survive

Even now
I wear the ghost of his voice
around my neck
a chain of roses, thorns first

even now
when i sleep
i dream in his
language

dark
cracked
Violent
like a promise
you only whisper
to someone
you plan to destroy