Phantoms

Disastrous and wounding;
there are layers of toxicity
confounding all the potential hope between us.
How can I possibly fix things
if you won’t even let me talk?
Put away your gun words,
your knife words,
your fist words, even
and don’t let a tongue lashing
come between us.

I hide in ways
you’ll never seek to find me;
the ocean
of all my thought-things
is more real than you prefer to believe.

I’m frightened of you
and your fists.
I’m frightened of you
and your fury.

I’m frightened of you.

Go and tell my brothers again
how you will be
the man to tame me,
go and tell them.
Stand at their graves
and promise the strength we both know fails us
and leaves us damaged.