“Sorry.” One word, her life upon a page.

Glinting barbed wire wrapped around thin arms;

The suit of armor was also a cage,

And words inside her head did much more harm.

Around her throat, a necklace made of rope,

An anchor pendant resting on her chest.

It dragged her down and held her far from hope

In an abyss where she was hatred’s guest.

She held a bottle in her trembling hand,

It spilled and memories went tumbling down.          

Along with them, the nothing she had planned,

For without lungs that breathe, one cannot drown.   

She tucked her favorites into her suitcase,

And left the rest behind for ghosts to chase.