By: Linda M Crate

broken halos of light
fall upon the
darkness you left me in
all i wanted was to hold your hand
because you were the
rainbow
of my heart,
but you stole away the light and stars and moons
and all of my flowers and pretty little
red heart;
i was told that you loved me,
but your lips were
liars—
i’m stealing my rainbow back,
and the moon and stars and sun and flowers sewed
me together in the meadows of my youth
with the trees and creeks and rivers
that once knew me well,
and they taught me how to smile again;
i was once pristine
you dirtied my veins with bitter sadness that devoured
me until nothing was left—
i broke free of your gilded cage,
and flew into the sun
because i am a price you cannot afford
i’ll blind you with truths you’ve never accepted because i am
a harbinger of light.