COFFEE STAINS

 

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COFFEE STAINS

POEMS ABOUT RECOVERING FROM ABUSE

By Keith J. Castillo

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BITTER CUP

you are

the first cup of coffee I drink in the morning,

the scars on the sandalwood frame of my bed

the gap between emptiness and happiness

(you are the bitterness in my mouth after that first sip of unsweetened coffee

the tang that stays long after)

I haven't forgiven you yet

I'm still trying

to learn

what it means to be free

(you are

a terrible memory

a man made myth laced with concrete

wheelies on ice and a self made cage

I could never trust you)

you can't help what you are

like you couldn't help losing

the daughter

you never had

(i rise, i rise, i rise,

a phoenix from the ashes

of crowbars and snow

i rise, i rise, i rise

like an angel

learning to hope.)

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GENTLE THINGS

Honey nuts and rose petals

a belief in gentleness

lost to the hardship of childhood

(I still think you're there sometimes.)

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