I Close My Eyes Poem by Joyce Msonda

Moments changed in flashes
Innocence stolen so easily
How could I be so foolish
So naive, innocent
I close my eyes
It's as if I'm there
A poor blue jay
Trapped in a cage of mongrels
I close my eyes
It's as if it was just yesterday
I disinfect everything he touched
My failed attempt to wipe the stains
You left inside me
I close my eyes
And yet I see so clearly
Such a misunderstanding of intentions
Such fictional assumptions
He conjures up about me in his bed
I close my eyes
Clothes burned
Stench eradicated
Oh how long I have washed
I wash, wash and wash
And yet your stench lingers
I close my eyes
And I weep
Yet I'm dry as a well during a drought
Did he take my tears too
I close my eyes
Trying to slip through the cracks
Of his fingers
Afraid
Lost
Oh so fragile