Broken Glass

A Poem by Sarah McFadden

About abusive relationships

At first it was
Walking on rose petals.
Your words bloomed
Flowers in my heart,
And I was reduced to ash
Every time I felt your touch.

Soon those petals
Turned into broken eggshells,
I never spoke up,
But what’s a voice to destroy love?
I began to envy the stars
So I could move fast enough
To avoid the fact that
Everything hurt sometimes.

Soon enough I was
Walking on broken glass.
You painted black and blue
My canvas with your fists.
Your needles bled my
Fragile veins dry,
Slowly, you drained the very
Oxygen from my lungs for
Every time you stole my breath.

I slept on a bed of nails
And walked on broken glass,
But no pain was worse
Than feeling the person you love
Turn your ambitions to dust,
Crumble your confidence,
And tear apart your bravery.
I was not human, but marionette,
Controlled by the hands of
My puppet master.