Kept myself locked in a room
surrounded by paintings of a world
I imagine without you.
Obeyed every order,
bent over,
and scrubbed all the corners
to hide evidence of a shameless man.

You struck me hard,
but your words hit harder.
Made me think I could never be an artist.
You tore down my dreams
and left me crumbled to the floor
surrounded by endless reminders
of the man I never wanted.

Would it have killed you
to be honest from the start?
I should not be this surprised.
For the high price of running away
from such a hard life is ignoring the signs
for the sake of false promises sealed with a diamond