Poem: Unsafe Place

You were my safe place,  

my harbor in the storm.  

The vows you whispered,  

meant to shield me from harm.  

I trusted you—  

with my body, my soul, my life.  

But now your hands,  

the ones I held with love,  

became knives.

I was fragile, broken,  

in a crisis you swore you’d see me through.  

But you shattered me,  

in the quiet of the night,  

when I could barely fight,  

and now I don’t know what’s left to do.  

You said you’d never hurt me.  

That’s what lovers say.  

But you tore me open,  

in the darkest way.

How do I heal,  

when the wound wears your name?  

How do I feel,  

when love and betrayal feel the same?

I’m alone now,  

but even in the silence,  

your ghost lingers near.  

The man I loved, the man I trusted,  

became my deepest fear.

What do I do with these memories,  

with the way your touch haunts my skin?  

I never thought I'd fear the one  

who promised to always let me in.  

But you left me hollow,  

left me torn in two—  

how do I move forward,  

when the one who broke me  

was you?  

-Giusiana