She and She Says

She has been
Within snake holes,
Within earshot of tales
Of lust and love,
Tales turned true
In romps of nothing more
Than leaks of abuse
Now character.

She has been
Bruised by them,
Serpents with slithering
Tongues forked to poke
Into her rattling instincts,
Her prisons of pleasure.

Depleted she climbs out,
Squinting pits for eyes,
The shouts of the sun,
Trying with all might
To focus.

The clutter cleared, the smoke
Blown, field of sight eased,
What does she see?
A familiar face, a common friend,
A childhood star, nothing barred
But the same slit below.

She says love,
And she says love.