I have gotten what I deserve.
And it was taken from me.

I have had medals pinned to my chest, been accoladed with praise and money, had foreign sand between my toes, been worshipped as a goddess

in a storied career of carwrecks and homewrecks, gasped prayers bursting over clutched fingers and sweat stolen from other beds, thrumming drums and mead cloaking a fumbling heart, loaves of bread eaten but not tasted, a body moved in hatred, a control-sweet tongue, a mind so sharp it cuts itself.

I have wondered and wandered through tears and terror
listing further and further
bowed lower and lower
pressed down, shaken together, running over
with all I have deserved.

What strange relief to find the burden lifted,
stolen one prize one rite one kiss one bite one word
at a time
all at once,
to collapse under sudden weightlessness
and weep thanks at the feet
of the one who robbed you.

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This post is part of Five-Minute Friday. This week’s prompt is DESERVE. If you’d like to join in the fun, click here!