Post-Coital Poem by Juli Watson

She slapped me with her words
Waited till I was vulnerable
Wrote obscene poetry across my face
Her disdain, my smarting stigmata
She painted her hate for everyone to see
I walked calmly away, an advert of the end
People stared in the street
I strode, defiant
I wore my critique like the martyr I am
Then I erase the experience
I sit in blistering hot water
Scalding my skin, silently scrubbing
I emerge fresh, pink, opaque, like a newborn mouse
Ready to start again
A stranger's house, again
A stranger's pillows, again
Solace in nameless embrace
Her house will give its clues
As I stumble over shoes
Find my way out
Before I get too comfortable
I can picture myself here
Eating, drinking, loving, sharing
But never really daring
...To stay, lest I leave another piece of me behind.