the line
by Ona Wang
redefine pimp and dependent
he depends on women he abuses for a living
begging her to keep giving it up to other men
he loves her
can't put a rock on her finger
cuz what she would save for him makes the bottom line
wedding night acts bought and paid for the cadillac he sells her out of
he isn't DUI he's driving blind
jealousy induced road rage
he drives her crazy
places her on a pedestal just to watch her fall
she trips over high-heeled hooker boots
red as sheets the day she gave it up to him
she hates him
hates the way his open-door policy
opens her legs to a new man every night
tooth biting nail because she's too afraid to fight tooth and nail
blood sprinkles her chin
unsure if it's from her biting her tongue
him biting her lip
fist teaching a trick
he showed her the ways of the street
and shackled her to them
bedroom chains the only safety she has against being behind bars
he is her protector
holds her close in the morning
she wonders how he can mock the shell he left of her
they curl up on the couch
because she hates to sleep in the bed she works in
when she falls asleep he brushes matted clumps of hair away from her face
he doesn't care who's done her
cuz she did it all for him
imagines each of his sperm swimming in the acid of her stomach
as if each one were a tender i love you
kissed onto a delicate neck
envisions how she must imagine him each time she's with a customer
how she screams his name in the back of her mind while another man takes her from behind
doesn't even need to close her eyes to pretend
she escapes to a fantasy land where she dictates
modern-day helen of troy
she launches a thousand ships into the plastic bag that strangles her
queen elizabeth
she reclaims her virginity
joan of arc
she holds the reins rather than being restrained
she does another line
he hides her self-inflicted addiction
the way she hides her hatred of him
he sees begrudging obedience
portrayed through smoky lens
gazes into her eyes
hazy from admiration or addiction
she lusts for substances he sustains in her blood stream
dependent on him
she studies his hallowed cheekbones
his deep penetrating gaze
knowledge is power
but so is sex
she masters every cave in his body
burrows in each pore
yields each against their owner
cleopatra of her time
encases herself in intoxication
mummifies her childhood
so a part of her can hold it forever
sews eyes shut
like her lips clamped closed
the only way she can breathe anymore
he rubs her back
she coughs turns away
and dreams