I recently participated in a local poetry group called Rain City Slam, and their event called Liner Notes. They take an album and each poet that participates is assigned a song. The album chosen this time was Taylor Swift’s “Lover” and the song I got was “The Archer.” Enjoy.
My body has become scarred
With all the wars fought in the name of love
And my hands are always ready for combat
In case they see through me
And they all do, eventually
Trace my vulnerability with precision
Peel back my skin, exposing my rib cage
Cracking me open, to steal pieces of my heart
Cruelty always wins over and over
Each relationship plays in my head
Creating a marathon of poorly written movies
And I have a hundred speeches prepared
For each romance, a sparring match of wits
Leaving me with clenched fists
And telling my heart I told you so
And I have a hundred excuses waiting
For the graveyard of red flags I chose to ignore
Dating is a war zone
And my body is always crossing into enemy territory
Combat, I am always ready for combat
When we first meet to draw up the terms of our treaty
Their name rests upon my tongue
Each letter causes a fight or flight response, but I freeze
Spilling out every fractured fairy tale with incomplete sentences
Ticking each memory upon their skin
And how could I expect them to stay
When I only perfected my battle cry over the language of love
They see through me, they always do
And I have a hundred reasons on why I should retreat
But sometimes it is hard, not to want to play the predator
When you have been the prey for many years
Combat, I am always ready for combat
Peel back my skin, exposing my rib cage
So they could see my restless heart dance, flicker
Burning, scathing my words
And I am on the defensive from the beginning
Learning how to build walls and not doors
They see through me, they see through me
I see through me, I always do, eventually
Help me to learn, help me to learn to hold
Help me to hold on to you
Poetic Trials 