Remember when
You taught me how to dance?
You, a man,
And I
(my child self
A maiden
Still
Too young
To dance.
And though I didn't
Understand the steps
You danced with me
Across a ballroom floor
Of shattered mirror glass
And broken innocence.
My bare feet
Bled and stumbled
And I tumbled to my knees
You laughed
As though you liked me there -
And still we danced.
You forced me on;
Your strength too strong;
And I -
crushed in your harsh embrace -
Fought for each breath -
Fought as we dipped
And twirled towards
An emptiness
I could not face.
I begged for you
To stop...
to stop...
to stop...
and darkness came
And as my mind
Absorbed the pain
My body danced
Your dance of shame.
And then you spoke.
You let me go.
You said to me,
"Forget we ever danced."
I tried. But still,
sometimes,
a step or two
Returns to mind:
The force, the lies
The pain denied...
Your laughter
And my broken cries.
The music of our dance.
