she knew when she awoke
that some one had raped her
gathering her clothes together
in the back alley she dressed quickly
flushed herself pissing behind a tree
spat and spat and spat to clean her mouth
before joining the anonymity in the mall
and watching for the culprits’ eyes
when we first met it was easy
our conversations medicine to counteract grief
in a short while the tonic wore thin
episodes of long-term loss begin to erupt
is this a lull in the love between us
now the silence has been handcuffed?
Or is this simply a test to see
who can utter the key?
