By: Linda M Crate

you said i was cute when i’m mad
well, am i gorgeous
now
that i’m ripping every part of your ego
to shreds?
am i stunning now that i am
burning with all the feathers of the angriest
phoenix?
you told me once that i don’t have a temper,
but i’m making you eat crow now;
i can’t live the way you
wanted me to
in that gilded cage that was crushing my lungs
into submission that i could never
yield to;
never did you respect the fact that i was wild
you only tried to tame me—
i am not to be tamed
simply need to find someone to dance in my wild song
with me,
and shed the clothes of his insecurity and fears
bury all his secrets into my bones
until we can only carry
one another on the wings of love in this world and burn
with eternal light;
you weren’t strong enough to house the temples of my rage
or my despair
you could only ever take me when i was happy—
i need someone to love me even when
my flaws and despair crack me
into someone less than loveable.