Poem // I want to believe (2014)

I wanted to believe

that you could love me

but your words are as flimsy

as fishing line,

your teeth stained with

the blood of past catches you’ve since

gutted, cleaned, and consumed

and they tear through my lip

like a hook,

tug, tug, tug,

and rip—

I am the floundering fish

desperate on the line,

wondering whether

the bait of your sweet breath

should be enough for me

to stay another night,

or if I should

let it go before I can

no longer breathe.

But before I could

turn myself free,

you had me,

hook,

line, and

sinker.

By M. Wobrak

Originally published in Overkill Literary Magazine, Allegheny College (2014)