to keep them safe

I pull away and draw inward, to keep them safe.

I don’t want to hurt anyone when I break.

I lick my wounds, the ones from being betrayed,

abandoned,

and raped.

I don’t think anyone realizes what I live with…

unless they’ve been to the bottom too.

And to tell you the truth

I wish to keep them innocent.

I wish for them to keep their faith.

So I pull away.

when it all becomes too much to take.