I know it shows how much he cares

by Tina Cole

You have broken all the pieces in my head
an innocence that never knew itself for sure,

a nightmare buried deep in layers of dread

and twisted it until it bled.

When stars were spinning, you called me immature,

you have broken all the pieces in my head

just the sight of me makes you see red.

You keep me in your pocket tight, secure,
a nightmare buried deep in layers of dread.

Six months gone, I should have fled,

still you bludgeon me with bitch and whore.

You have broken all the pieces in my head

then bound them tight with jealous thread

and left me anxious, insecure,

a nightmare buried deep in layers of dread.

It shows how much he cares, the voices said.

Love’s meant to hurt, they whispered, just before

you broke the little pieces in my head
a nightmare buried deep in layers of dread.

* * * * *

Tina Cole is a retired education consultant who lives in rural Herefordshire. She delights in poetry that speaks about relationships and how people manage their inner worlds. Her collection – I Almost Knew You – published in 2015 deliberately brings those relationships into view. Other poems have been published in U.K. magazines and journals such as, (Mslexia, Aesthetica & Decanto), one in The Guardian newspaper and in several recent anthologies. In 2018 she won third place in the Army – Writing Armistice National Competition and second place in the Canterbury Poet of the Year. She is the organiser of the Children’s Poetry Competition; poetryintenbury.org.