INTRO

RUBY RED ROSE

I cannot decide whether the ruby on my ring finger
matches the cuff marks on my wrists
or the shackles on my bleeding feet.

Perhaps it matches the fire in your eyes
when you unleash your unjustified hatred of the world
onto the people who love you the most.

Perhaps it matches your inner demon dressed like God
that I fight to nurture
since you are too afraid to face it yourself.

Perhaps it matches my love
that you snatch and throw in my own face
while I attempt to fill your empty soul with mine.

But now, the ruby on my ring finger
is a part of my being.

Because I have hope
that you love me with everything you have
even if it is not in the way that I want.

Because I do not mind drowning
to be an anchor
in your sea of self-pity and pain.

Because when I die loving you,
at least I will die
feeling like I have lived.

I cannot decide whether the ruby on my ring finger
is a tether or a trap.
But now it is a part of my being.

Because perhaps it matches you,
a fragile rose
that wears thorns for protection.