i watched a woman share her story on tv

she hides in herself.
desperate.
she fakes a smile.
desperate.

melting into her longing.
hesitant.
lingering in loneliness.
hesitant.

her broken self withers in frustration. willing
to do anything. prepared
to endure anything.
for glimpses.
whispered affirmations of a romanticized
emotion instead of covered
bruises and shameful scars.

desperate
to salvage any semblance of a functional relationship?
she's given up on "love" a long time ago.
desperate
to please the one she loves.
she knows she can.
desperate
enough to do, take, survive the unimaginable.
the unmanageable.
she hides in her darkness.
desperate
for a spark.
but her mirror only reflects the indefinite abyss.