A Rash Act

By Shaikh Aafreen

I have been emptied out—all of it—love: rubbed and cleaned. I had once known it, spent it rashly almost, or ignorantly, too early as they said. So now I keep my love tamed, tied to the peg, hidden beneath layers of dust that I dare not clean, for I'm not ready for what I would come across in the deep, dark eyes of it, it is too dangerous to fall again, again for the same tricks and treats, again for the things my mouth keeps screaming to be rid of. I'm ashamed of my intensity. I'm a lot and I need to sedate myself quite often to keep my teeth off my heart.

By Shaikh Aafreen