hell hath no fury like a woman denied room to breathe

She told him

She wasn't interested

And she wasn't

Emotionally available

Her time was limited, so

She told him

To stay away

And she urged him--

She defined herself as

A bad choice, warning him:

"I will hurt you."

She even told him

Pop culture had created

The perfect phrase to explain:

"It's not you, it's me."

But he didn't listen

He kept pushing, and

He kept asking for more

And eventually

She caved, and

She let him in

Affording him courtship

She became vulnerable

And she really did try

She compromised, and

It was fun while it lasted

He was kind, and

He turned her on

They talked about poetry

And literature and music

But the courtship

It grew large fast

It enveloped her

With its oversized dimension

Occupying her capacity

With no space for

Anyone or anything new

And it left no room

For her to breathe

And her chest tightened

With anxiety ascending, so

She begged him for space

She explained that

She couldn't breathe

Her dual conciousness was

Collapsing, and

Her gut filled with soot

She began to burn

At both ends, forcing

Her lungs to the side

When all she needed

Was oxygen, and

A deep cleansing breath

But she was unable

She couldn't inhale

And still

He didn't listen

As he watched her

Gasp for air

She was hysterical, and

Treading with fright

So she told him

She'd fuck his brother

While his nephews watched

She'd murder his mother

With the straightedge

Of his very best razor, and

She'd drink all of his booze

Until she regurgitated

All of the lies they'd told

And she'd destroy his house

And she'd boil his cat

And she planned to spend

All of his money, leaving him

Homeless and broke

And perhaps it was all a threat

Or perhaps she really meant it

Darwin could explain--

One's survival evolves

But finally --

He finally listened

He finally took a step back

He said that he wanted

All of his books back, and

What am I supposed to do

with this new bottle of viagra?

And he said

He couldn't understand

She'd come at him

From left field swinging

This was ALL news to him

How could she hurt him

She never talked about

The need for space, and

Now she was saying

Such awful things

Pushing him away, and

Threatening him

So he'd leave

And he was mortified

By the pain and the shock

But she DID warn him

From the very beginning

She said if

She wasn't availed

The room that she needed

To breathe and exist

She'd panic, and

In a desperation to survive

The courtship wouldn't last

She told him

What she needed, and

She asked for it honestly

She even bargained

And she BEGGED

Because she knew eventually

The relationship would manifest

Into something destructive

And ugly and unforgivable

So she grew deviant with

The Devil's evil blessing

And she did what she had to

To get away

And to live.

In search for the space

She needed to breathe

Because suffocating is painful

Especially in slow motion

But now she wades, alone

Drowning in guilt

Even though she was honest

She cut him with ice

And she shudders

With the sadness

She caused him to bear, and

She isolates herself

In her own pit of tar

With petroleum seeping

From her pores, and

Fossilizing her dead heart

She seems cold now, and

Maybe she is

Or maybe she always was...

Or maybe--

She was fragile

With exceptional needs for

Extra breathing room, and

For a little more space

Above what is "normal"

But her strong independence

Proclaimed the honest truth

She was so fucking fearful

That'd she'd never

Catch her breath, and

If he had listened at all

In the beginning--

Or even in the middle

Perhaps the apparition

Of her trepidation exploding

Would never have surfaced.