Broken Glass 

She strings the lights
more gold than white
A moment of peace, warmth
Broken by angry words
With teeth that eat at her soul

She sings, dances to anything but
Christmas music
The artificial pine needles scraping
Her hands ’til they bleed
She welcomes this pain
That hurts less on the outside

She rests awash in the glow of
One thousand one hundred lights
And thinks she understands why people
Cut, carve, slice into their skin
To let the inside out

She types on her phone
Silent, edgeless words
Knowing she won’t let him have that
She won’t pick up the shards he spits
Won’t let them become the broken glass that maims her

She did it once
Before
A long time ago
She still has the scar
He can’t have another

She breathes
In the late-night solitude
Breathes
One breath at a time
Beneath a thousand lights
And one silver star

© Nichole Liza Q.