tales of conquering.

"conquer the angry man by love"
your mother tells you
"it keeps you safe"
(but she doesn't tell you it doesn't last long)

and when you are standing in that room together,
you remember how you used to hope
you tell him
"this doesn't feel romantic"
but he smiles and shushes you,
ignoring your pleas to wait
he holds a finger to your lips
and peels away your old skin

but still you know he doesn't know you
everything he heard from you,
was only ever one of you
he looked, and he listened
(or so you thought)
and he was the farthest from you,
even then,
when you were wrapped in his bones

when you told him this, he didn't say a word but wrapped you even more until you couldn't breathe because he'd hid you away and he couldn't hear you when you screamed and he'd never even asked you if you wanted this and your bones didn't know so how could you and you couldn't breathe and he couldn't hear you because he didn't want to and because your mother had never told you that it doesn't last long when you conquer the angry man by love.