there’s still magic in me left
you haven’t destroyed
my power
only made me stronger by burning
away what weakness in me
remained,
but i won’t thank you;
every rebirth is painful and this resurrection
was the most painful—
you threw stones through my heart and decimated
what little ego i had with all of your broken
promises and lies,
and when i thought it could get no worse
you cut me to the quick with your tongue;
the mighty dagger
of your arsenal—
i had to gather all my worth back up into my arms,
and i realized that i was a worth you could not afford and
i foolishly gave you a discount because my heart
was so very hungry;
so if you have something to say
save your breath
there is no apology that can save you from my fury
primordial and cold as every wing of the angry
moon—
i’ll turn away from you
bury you in hurricanes of regret.
__________________________________________
Linda M. Crate is a Pennsylvanian native born in Pittsburgh yet raised in the rural town of Conneautville. Her poetry, short stories, articles, and reviews have been published in a myriad of magazines both online and in print. She has three published chapbooks: A Mermaid Crashing Into Dawn (Fowlpox Press – June 2013) and Less Than A Man (The Camel Saloon – January 2014), and If Tomorrow Never Comes (Scars Publications, August 2016). Her fantasy novel Blood & Magic was published in March 2015. The second novel of this series Dragons & Magic was published in October 2015. Her third novel Centaurs & Magic was published November 2016. Her poetry collection Sing Your Own Song is forthcoming through Barometric Pressures Series.