The Once and Future Ex

Jennifer Sicking


Must I tug and pull
Every last leafy tendril
Of you out of my life?

You have crept
Into every nook and cranny,
Every crack and notch of my life.

Now, now you threaten
My foundation to tear apart
And my black roof to rip off.

You will consume me,
Until even my bones
Become lost in you.

No!
Strand by strand
I will liberate me.


For days, I am safe.
For months, I am free.
Then you return to devour me.