Papercut Poem by Lily Gomes

If you ask me what was it like to have him?
I’ll tell you it was like having my favorite cotton candy from childhood after 10 years
The first bite of my red velvet cupcake
The first sip of cold, crisp water on a hot summer day
My nights were littered by his loops of writings
My desires, an avalanche picking up speed
What was it to be with you?
A child reaching for the low flickering candle
Unaware of the damage, invincible of the aftermath
The first time you told me not to trust you
Your words spilling into my lap like a glass of red wine
My wrists still tight around in embrace
My knees shaking from the earthquake within
I was afraid to lose you and you afraid of having me
Do you remember when you promised me to never hurt me?
Do you remember when I was on my knees begging you to not break me?
Shattering me into infinite pieces from the picture frame
The frame that read ‘forever’
In bold, silver letters
If you ask me how was it to lose him?
Trying to sleep in a warzone
It was holding on to a burning metal bar, hanging from the highest floor
Loosing baby teeth, a part of me I thought I needed
The tune of my favorite love long
Being played on the lower notes
The broken keys jangling in a hollow auditorium
They say all stories have endings
But this one had none
Just a few ripped pages towards the end
A few strains of blood
From the paper cuts
It was an almost finished story
Because almost, is my least favorite word
An almost failed potential, an almost honest confession
An almost death from a paper cut