LIVING IS BURNING, DYING IS DROWNING

In her 20s,
her boyfriend's fists
flew like the helicopter blades
he had seen in Iraq,
Until her face
looked like it had been hit by the shrapnel
that mangled his left abdomen.
She doused her pain in heroin
So living was burning
and dying was drowning.
Until one day she cried enough tears
for them to reach up to her ears
and then she knew she did not have to
fear drowning anymore.
She left down the road
though she still had fractured bones
from her violent relationship.
She stayed away from the painkillers
but she tried LSD.
Then living was drowning
and dying was burning.
And then she met him.
His lips tasted like cherries
and she got used to their sweet taste.
He moved on after three weeks,
But she never forgot him.
And those three weeks
made her glad to have ever lived.
And she remembered him
for the rest of her life.

Copyright ©2020 Ashi Shadow -2/29/20
not how I originally planned for making it, originally planned no happy ending.
I can imagine her kisses, the both characters are fictional Considered "LSD, next".
The characters are an amalgam of various real people including me although she's not based on any person I've been friends with, except for the LSD aspect with Jason Wawrzazeck.
Considered a linebreak and indent for "ever lived."