He Said He Loved Her

A thud echoed across the room.
Hot red pain spread like a virus across her face.
Stinging tears move along permanent indentations along the way.
She has grown numb to such pain.
And she retains her smile because,
He said he loved her.

Her friends know what is going on now.
Her black and blue traitors scream the truth,
And makeup doesn't quiet them like it used to.
Her friends plead to her to leave and save herself.
But she just tells them that,
He said he loved her.

She was doomed to repeat this cycle.
She did not love her life enough to want to save it.
She thought the pain in her heart,
Should match the pain on her face.
Therefore she stayed when,
He said he loved her.

She didn't have the strength to find the courage,
The courage that was necessary for her escape.
She was a young girl again,
Weak, defenseless, empty.
Besides,
He said he loved her.

She was walking to the market for more whiskey for him,
When she passed a young, handsome man, more so then she had ever seen before.
Her heart stopped as he placed his hand on her shoulder.
He stared into her eyes, feeling her pain in his heart.
Maybe it didn't matter if,
He said he loved her.

He walked her home, holding her hand the whole way.
He kissed her lovingly on the cheek as the man came to the window.
She looked ahead, seeing his face, and felt a squeeze on her hand.
She turned around, and the mysterious man was gone.
But somehow he was still there, and she knew the man in the window lied when,
He said he loved her.

She walked silently into the shabby old apartment building.
Walking up to the man awaiting her, she greeted him with a smile.
She didn't have the whiskey, so he yelled and sent a hand flying toward her face.
It seemed as to pass through her, and the man flailed his arms rapidly in confusion.
She walked out the door, with her newly found courage, when from the distance,
He said he loved her.