CHAPTER 5

Remember, Remember, 

The 5th of November, 

For that one year 

It truly changed my life. 

She came back one day 

At the verge of tears, 

She fell into my arms 

After a long difficult day. 

She tearfully told me, 

"I was teaching in class 

And my scars somehow came uncovered, 

They wouldn't stop laughing." 

Then She asked me for something, 

Something She'd never asked before. 

A back massage. 

That's what She wanted. 

At first I was confused 

Yet I still did as She said, 

But She insisted on staying fully clothed 

As She always did. 

Nearly a year I'd known Her, 

Loved Her, 

Lived with Her, 

Slept with Her. 

Despite it all 

I'd never seen Her back. 

I'd felt Her back, 

But never seen it. 

I went ahead and began, 

I gently pushed against Her shirt, 

Able to feel every protruding bone 

As Her heart began to calm itself. 

Though I made a mistake. 

Be it lust. 

Be it curiosity. 

It matters not. 

I'd make a terrible mistake 

And ask to see Her back. 

At first She refused 

With great fear or anger, 

I couldn't tell, 

But She was clearly upset. 

After a moment, She let me 

Pull up Her shirt 

To reveal a wicked sight 

Of Her terribly scarred back. 

Long scars, 

Old and healed, 

Not of knives, 

But of whips? 

It seemed horrible, 

As if someone had scratched Her, 

All over 

Like a wild beast. 

Under the strap 

Of Her dark bra 

Was a name engraved, 

"DAISY" 

I asked Her what it meant 

And She jolted up, 

Covering Herself back up 

With tears in Her eyes. 

I tried to hold Her, 

But now She moved away. 

I asked, "What's wrong?" 

She said, "I'm scared!" 

I tried again to hold Her 

Yet She still stayed away. 

I put a blanket around Her 

And sat nearby, 

She shuffled over 

And put Her head against me. 

She softly muttered, 

"Can we go out today? 

I want to go somewhere new 

That I never went to as a little girl..." 

I agreed and asked Her wHere, 

She said somewhere special 

And fancy, 

Somewhere She wouldn't usually go. 

I knew it'd be costly 

And I couldn't afford it, 

But I didn't care, 

I'd do anything for Her. 

So I wore my best suit, 

Though it was worn out. 

And She wore Her best dress, 

Though it was stretched and loose. 

I was with Her, 

My best company. 

When we arrived 

We got some judgemental looks 

As we were an irregular pair, 

Yet I didn't care. 

At first She was nervous 

Having seen all the eyes 

That made assumptions and judgements 

Because of how She looked. 

But I told Her She looked beautiful 

And I saw a smile, 

Full of emotion 

And the emotion was purple. 

As we began to eat 

Her confidence grew, 

As She began to hold Her head high 

And shoulders broad. 

Everyone hated Her 

And everyone hated me. 

But I loved Her 

And She loved me. 

After our meal, 

She asked to go up high 

So we could watch the fireworks 

Together in the night. 

So we made our way 

Up an old filthy building. 

She gazed at the lights 

As the sound of the rockets 

Ricochetted throughout the city 

Like gunfire in the night. 

Slowly as I stood beside Her 

She began to tear up. 

"What's wrong?", I'd asked, 

"You don't deserve me.", She replied. 

I was shocked 

And I tried to speak. 

But She put Her finger on my lips 

And stated- 

"You don't deserve me. 

You're a good person, I love you so much. 

Though you're too good for me, 

You've commit no sin 

So horrid or nasty 

That you'd need to bare this burden. 

That is me, 

I am that burden. 

I am scarred, 

I am scathed, 

I am bruised, 

I am rot. 

You are far too good a man 

To suffer with me. 

I know I drag you down 

So stay with me no longer. 

People like me 

Don't belong with people like you, 

For it is sure 

That we will only harm you. 

I'm not made for this world, 

I'm not made for any world. 

I love you, my Dear, 

Farewell." 

She tried to throw Herself 

Off the building 

On to the ground 

To death. 

But I caught Her 

And told Her just how wrong She was, 

How I was scarred too 

And how we would make it through together. 

Sometimes I wonder 

Whether I should've let Her fall. 

Should I suffer as I do today 

Or suffer a guilty solitude. 

I will always remember 

That 5th of November. 

As the fireworks burst 

And lit up the sky. 

Her face glowing 

As I held Her close. 

My Then-Kind, Caring Sweetheart, 

Rosie.