I guess you never really loved me

because I was broken from the start.

You wanted me to bend and snap my bones into the shape of your heart's desire

and more than anything

you wanted me to want to.

You didn't realize I was already bent beyond repair

pulled this way and that way

tossed to and fro

until there was nothing left of me,

nothing for you to break.

You snarled like an animal

when I shattered in your hands.

You had wanted me to break,

but you had wanted to do it yourself

to ingrain yourself so deeply in my bones

that when they turned to dust

I would come running back to you

trying to find the pieces of myself

I hadn't even realized you'd taken.