Safety

the force of her vibrant soul burns brightly
reflected in the mirror on a dingy apartment wall
the cool 4 a.m. silence breathes deep
and she marvels at how the sharp echoes of his venomous voice
have faded away into some distant galaxy of icebergs

an uncertain horizon stretches in front of her
full of blue and yellow strokes and swirls
and nesting-doll Pandora’s boxes
that she will eagerly open
because she understands
that safety is a secluded womb
where the living dead don't take risks
and life is never really lived