Words

Your words stick
to me
like a second skin
I can't get rid of
or remove.

They follow me
everywhere I go -
I can't escape.
You made sure
of that.

It's like you etched
them on the folds
of my brain
and every thought
I have
contains
you.

If only
they were words
of love
instead
of words you used
to tear down
to create a better me
like you
were some kind
of Frankenstein -
single minded
after a goal
that made no sense,
that nobody else
could see
but you.

You brought
me to life
but
I wasn't what
you'd dreamed of
when you whispered
so many words
into my ears,
wishing
and hoping
for more.

Now the monster
is loose.
What do you do?
You burn the words
into me like a brand
so that I cannot stand
to be touched
anywhere your breath
has landed upon me.

I am suffocating
beneath your words,
struggling for air
that you have not breathed
before me.

I wish I could shed
this skin,
you
like a snake
in the grass
or under a rock.

I would hide away
from you
and your words
if only
I weren't me.