you are my heartbeat,
encased in a body of mechanical rule—
speaking when needed,
told off far too many times
to consider it unusual.

but I loved you,
and this heart still beats solely for you.

so even if I tasted blood on my tongue,
and my fingers trembled with the small
possibility of being someone so loveless,
I clutched my own heart,
telling it to calm down,
punishing it for feeling something.

thump. thump. thu—

· ♔ ·