Tonight's Poet Corner: Sonnet Solstice #505
For Four Years by Belinda Roddie For four years, I carelessly entertained the man who would become my abuser. Sure, we were not romantic, but the pain still reverberated. I remember the words he branded on me from a screen (though now I plan to get them tattooed on my body somewhere). I recall the sheen of tears each time he spiraled, deep and long, into his own psychosis, dragging me down into the pit with him. Still, I cared for him, showed compassion. But he nearly sucked me dry, like Nosferatu - he scared me, terrorized me, 'til I at least dealt my final card and said, "Go fuck yourself."
