to recover
from
eight months
of
him
all
the parts of me
scorched
with that love
and sickness
prickle
with occasional memory
but my body no longer aches
torments me
stops me
from drinking in
this new feeling
spring cleaning
I emerge
behind smoke-stained curtains
tear them down
smash the bottles
flush the pills
erase the pictures
pain dancing behind smiling eyes
reject the insults
hurled at me like fists
I emerge
stronger than before
wiser than before
clean
and ready
for spring
