Two Poems

This Temple 
for all victims of sexual violence


You never received an invitation to enter.
You, the shadow creeping in 
while I was blissfully unaware,
mistaking you for a kind messenger.
Did I satisfy your needs?
You still look hungry, 
your eyes bottomless black holes 
sucking my life’s energy 
because yours is dying.
Now, it’s my turn to get up 
after you’ve mopped up your needs,
and wander like a zombie 
towards a light that I’ve lost,
a life that might save me,
from the shadow you cast
on this sacred heart.


Questioning the Shadow
for all those tired of trying to be someone


These mosaic parts
are glued to your praise,
or discarded in shame,
searching for ways to feel whole.
Is there a background large enough
to hold all these pieces, 
till the fractured lines fade,
till there is no one left but silence
whispering my name?