Empty Venom Poem by Maya Hanson

Every minute I'm next to you
and she's in your mind
this envy's empty venom slaps hard against my face,
like I need to shield her from you
to let you find me.

This snakeskin singes my dreams and daylight,
whirls from my lungs like a waterfall
when I try to keep my hands from wrapping you up too tight
and I can hear it throw you off balance.

The girl inside me wants to steal everything you call a lifeline
then gather up these cities and leave them on your doorstep-
maybe it's too much
Every minute I'm next to you
I try to make my fingers look like colored glass
but I know I've built them on corrupted bones

I need to let the green go
so I can get off the ground on my own
because this love is paid in moments
not knives that sever the bridges you've already built.

If this venom is a shield
that encases my heart in empty gold
my love is the sword that can pierce it to smoke.