Parasitic Trophy

"You are just SO pretty,
I want to take care of you.
I want you to be successful.
I want to marry you."

She's heard the words so many times
Each time she thinks they're real.
She hides her fears, shows her love
And hope this means she'll heal.

With all that she has been through,
It's heady to be revered.
She says ‘I do' to further loss,
And takes on what she feared.

She eats the food that he provides
Although it leaves her hollow.
She must eat or she will die,
Another truth to swallow.

She wears the clothes he brings her
The shoes and earrings match.
He sees her beauty constantly
And prides his ‘very good catch'.

She pays the bills with checks he writes
From work he loves to do.
She recalls that year in college
And wishes she'd seen it through.

She sleeps in the bed where he waits for her
And listens to his dreams.
He maps their lives and their happiness
And doesn't know she screams.

Without him she is nothing
With him she is less.
A Parasitic Trophy -
Just another term for Mess.

She thinks that she could leave him
Find value in her own name
But she's been lost for a lifetime.
It'll always be the same.

She'll chart a course for freedom
Hoping she'll learn to fly.
She'll struggle to find herself.
Failing, her soul will die.

Then she'll hear familiar phrases
Salvation in every word.
The beating drum within in her soul
Will surely go unheard.

"You are just SO pretty,
I want to take care of you.
I want you to be successful
I want to marry you."

She can still turn heads
Wherever she may be.
Her diamonds glitter big and bright.
She's a Parasitic Trophy.