He says the words..."I love you.",
at least twenty times a day.
He speaks the words by rote...
when there is nothing else to say.
He holds them out like a badge,
to somehow defend his right...
To own me, hurt me, control me,
and use me in the night.
He speaks those empty words,
to break the awful silence.
Ignoring our long dead love,
clinging to the marriage license.
He speaks the words from habit,
I hear the words with shame.
He talks about our children,
our duties, but not about our pain.
