fading into pain and out again takes a long time to do

it’s like catching out a freshly
severed lover with your
best friend and seeing they fit
like cog teeth
in gear while you’re still filling
the tyres with air
filing excuses in pretty notebooks and all
the offers you thought yours in the bag
chuffed you had
the wind at your back smug
about sisterhood pastlife peach fluff
pillow talk that you took up with
pen and fire walked pain free over
hot tar and feathers gave so much
of you away with a little too
little hesitation now
picking at the dried crust to the pink
of you beneath