the ones before you? I've contained them,
suppressed them like the moving urge to free
a caged animal with watery eyes, trembling legs.

I don't want their claws raking my side, their teeth
snapping from the corners of my mind, wanting me
to look at them, asking if they can be the last thing I see.

but then there’s you, a different beast, one who still
circles back to me with rehabilitated wings and a tongue
that no longer picks me apart until i’m skin and bone.

and so, I'm letting you run rampant in my mind because
you're kind when you quiet my demons with a few words.
you're patient when you let me sit with them, to tame them

so I don’t feel possessed to lash out at you as I’ve done before.
you don’t get under my skin, though. you’ve less venom in your
voice. still, you can tear me apart from the inside.

you aren’t them.
i welcome your damage.
you have my permission.