Shontay Luna
It’s my sacred duty to face them,
staring into the green eyes with
pupils as dark as an abyss and
call them out on their shit.
Because I’m no longer the shy
little girl they preyed on with
unbound, heathen relish.
Though extracting me of my
innocence, I am anything but
hollow. The nightmares a part
of me but not completing me.
The first time, I was four. After that,
I stopped counting. Trauma not
a keepsake box decorated with
etched glass and laid crystals.
Instead, the container that holds
it, does so just barely. As it is
repugnant and marred with
unfamiliar crevices that add to
its misshapen shape and
putrid existence. Without even
realizing it, I made a solemn
vow unto myself to not let it
destroy me. And by graces I’ll never
know, my spirit remains. Not only
intact, but downright
immaculate.