Five

It is all revealed in hindsight,
In the hints and glints of evenings
You intended to keep private,
How I never slept so poorly
As I did lying beside you--
Your snoring kept me so uneasy,
The simple sign that you were breathing
Left me restless, never knowing
You had drained me,
Left me, foolish,
Dry and breathless,
Left me lying in a bed
I've made before.

On its slow and steady creeping
Before finally hitting home,
This spiny gift that keeps on giving
Steeped in time to strength
So bitter. I would gladly
Lose each moment
Of the hot and prickly shame
That trickles, like a teacher's scolding,
Through each vein from head to toe.
You have let go, but I can't shake
This cruel token, like a splinter
Deeply hidden in my ribs,
The heart intact
But bruised and branded
By the pink and tingling
Handprint
Of an old persistent slap.