You compared me to a
rhino, a vulnerable animal
Frightening, yet too
youthful and senseless to be
loving you.
Somehow your grey beard
and worn-out dry hands,
They made me feel
sheltered within myself.
I offered you skin, hips,
my left earlobe,
My history and every
marrow in my bones.
Willingly.
But still inside you was the
need to hurt me.
You would lean in gently
and bite a piece of me,
While I laid my head on
your shoulder, analyzing
with my fingers every grey
hair on your chest.
Each stretch mark on your
stomach was like
an atlas set to guide me
through the universe.
I always wondered,
Was it really you that I
loved,
Or was it the fact that you
reminded me of my
father...
