You had a kindness
like shark teeth,
shed a thousand times
over, lost to fossilize along
the unpredictable sea of what
was your promised best intentions.

Underneath more
kept growing, razor sharp
forget me nots along a
misleading mouth —
unhinged and unpredictable,
capable of such beauty but
only being known for its destruction.

And some days I still find
your teeth in my skin,
I string them together to wear
like war decorations,
a reminder of the time I
meant to fall in love but
went to battle instead.

—Lucy Quin