Because Once—

I prepare myself for the ultimate betrayal.

In your name, I encircle every exit.

I allocate every room exit, counting.

I prepare for romance in zeros and ones,

the binary of hearts,

flipping, switching, never fully set.

I explore each intricately articulated smile,

the kind that feels unsolvable.

You call it cold.

I call it self-preservation.

Or the sound of hailstones

falling abruptly on moonlit meadows.

Or the specter of palms

that wrapped around me like a fleeting promise,

but left me suspended in longing.

I flinch,

as if to break free before it all fades.

From compassion,

only to run before it beckons,

a clock running backward,

too early for daylight to save me.

I wake before the sun adjusts,

a prisoner to time that’s never right.

Why do I always assume the worst in people?

Because once—

I didn’t.

And it cost me pieces I’m still collecting.

Sip & Support