You don’t know me,
she yells.
You don’t even know yourself.
The light in your eyes
is new.
Never there before,
in the bloody days.
* * *
She wipes the pain
from the corners
of his mouth,
remembers a time
when they kissed.
She sees the new man,
the one who sacrificed.
She hated him once,
but now believes
he can be good.
He hurls his faults
at her like weapons,
begs her to end him.
But he’s not the enemy.
He’s been losing time.
Waking up in strange places.
Hating the face staring back
from the mirror.
She doesn’t hate herself,
not anymore.
She may not love this man,
but she believes in him.
In what he’s fought for.
In how he’s changed.
In his ability to do good.
And that may be enough.