“How much do I owe you?” you managed to ask,

almost choking on the nose

around your neck

And the man named his price and released you

out of this god-forsaken room on legs that

obeyed a command

long forgotten.

Or forbidden

because of the fear they’ve felt and

the shame they’ve been dealt and

Also because no one believed you when

you cried out in the dark of the night.

And yet, they remembered how to

Press into your feet and shift your weight

just so that

your hips came to rise above

your knees which straightened with the

Momentum of an arched bow

that aimed for the door, and out,

Never to return.