Draft Two

Warmed on your bed by a hundred nightly chills

She grew to recognize the lengths and ends of her body

Through pain, through pang

Through tenderness that came from you

To tenderness that mutely screamed in the quite nights

And every sting was a reminder of your love

Spoils of the war, she lost every time to win

A new scar of your boundless affection

And while she leaves her marks on you

You leave none for onlookers to spy

To inquire, or silently understand

Instead the blows of your love

Seep deeper

Infiltrate

To find shelter under her fevered skin

But every day she seeks and seeks

More and more of this frenzied game

Not allowing you to keep your calm

Not accepting measured moves

Not allowing the dialogue to end

With pleasantries and polite exchange

But if you are reading this

Do not feel moved to take the blame

For she doesn’t wish to smolder

But scrounge your love

For her charred remains.