And the she wolf howls

and howls

and howls

and the female

the female

feels it too

under her skin

through her bones

the tremors begin

A vibration that runs

straight and true

straight and true

and through

her bones

that are howling

this is so unfair!

yet on the surface

a smile breaks

nicely

fingers wrap

neatly around the stem

as her sinew bends

but doesn’t break

Her skin

like a drum

it stretches

nearly meeting at the edges

yet she is overcome

with the need

not to let this play out like the last

time they met

just here

on the edge

So

She puts down the wine

has a glass of water

stares deeply into her reflection in the darkened kitchen window

he is beyond

the bench

the chair

all reasoning

Their children  are sleeping

She instead

Uses her head

meets her own eyes

locks with them in challenge

this will not be me

not this time

I will be different

I will not explain

or

……………………

all those other things

I will merely sip water

and say

Goodnight

See you in the morning

His eyes flash a warning

but it his and to him alone

Though he doesn’t know it now

Payback is a bitch

Don’t make her one in your own home

You’ll blame her

and she won’t take it

you know it is yours to own

you can shed it

but it will come crawling

back

back

back

Because blame comes back

from whence it sprung

You can pile it at her feet

and you can blacken both her cheeks

but in the quiet

Karma thinks

and thinks

and it knows the chinks

in your armour

so it will come back faster

than you think

Because Karma is the bitch

in your own home

 

Paper daisies are one of my favourite flowers – beautiful and resilient.  If this post has been a trigger, please get help here for family domestic violence in Australia.  There are solutions and ways out, stay strong and begin finding your way.