“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.