People can hold love within themselves but not nearly as much as eight years can hold
Homes can offer comfort but not nearly as much as a person who knows you in way that requires no further explanation from you
And for that, you find yourself wide awake at hours you promised yourself you’d be asleep, preying on old memories like a vulture
You pick them clean until there’s nothing left but the good parts and you reach for his heart as you refall in love
But little do you know that he picked them clean until there was nothing left but the bad parts, and he reminds you that the stitches you wove were not durable enough to last through an eventful summer,
And you retreat back to your 2am wonders
Both of you lying in your own dark rooms, a few miles apart, grasping at straws you had hoped were lit ablaze and turned to ash in the last blowout fight
But if you and him can agree on anything it’s that a stack of dynamite and two short fuses are hardly enough to burn through a small part of eight years

This piece was beyond powerful, Molly–it quite literally gave me chills. The final stanza is a sad truth that I’m sorry you had to know. Even at the darkest points its refreshing to see your optimism for the future with each encounter. The phrases ‘ grasping at straws…’ and ‘a stack of dynamite and two short fuses…’ added strong imagery and emotion to your piece.
-Hannah Kirby
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Amazing. This poem was genuinely incredible to read. Your use of imagery and similes really emphasize the poems message. One of my favorite lines was when you said “preying on old memories like a vulture, you pick them clean until there’s nothing left…” That line is really powerful because it shows the desperation and sadness you must have felt during this time. It was really emotionally evoking and gave me a lot to think about, great writing Molly.
-Tess Williams
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I don’t know where to begin. This piece is a work of art. You managed to capture the complexities of an abusive relationships with just a few stanzas. It’s easy to forget that a toxic relationship doesn’t begin with abuse. People fall in love with the person they met and when their character disintegrates, subconsciously their brain will sculpt and justify the memories to keep their character in tact. Maybe one day they will change and go back to being the person you knew them to be? Those good times have to mean something right? Your shift from a beautiful love poem to something much darker exemplifies this perfectly. Amazing job, Molly.
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