Chapter One: Splinters

Morning Mirror

Cracked reflection.
Split down the middle.
One side me,
the other
a stranger.
Bruised knuckles
trace the fractures,
but the glass doesn’t bleed.
Only I do.

Backstory in Glimpses

Mama whispered lies
beneath the lullabies.
Papa drank truths
that burned like fire.
Me, caught between
the cracks in their stories,
a broken thing
in a world of
shattered glass.

Escaping in Plain Sight

They never saw me.
Not really.
Blurry,
invisible edges
fading into the walls.
Until I learned
the power of a scream—
not from the throat,
but from the soul.

The First Taste

Freedom,
bitter like cheap gin.
Sweet like
the pills that followed.
Each a promise,
a lie,
a breathless flight
away from
this life.

Chapter Two: Blackout Blessings

Night’s Embrace
The night swallows me whole,
a blanket of silence,
heavy with secrets.
I sip lies,
gulp numbness,
chasing peace I’ll never hold.

The stars are pinholes
in the dark,
watching me
but offering no light.
I wish I could
disappear into them.

Blurred Edges
Memories are slippery things,
melting like snowflakes
on a fevered tongue.
Last night:
a man,
his hands,
a promise whispered
but not kept.

This morning:
bruises blooming like flowers,
shadows under my skin.
I tell...