The Unfurling Lesson

Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published

There is a sadness,
A dolorous woe‑tide,
That dwells
Deep
In my bones.
A sorrow I have sought to numb
With feigned love,
With draughts of forgetfulness,
With alcohols,
Drugs,
Masks and borrowed faces.
Yet it forever resides
In my marrow,
In the very loom of my blood,
In the eldritch hollows
Of my being.
It calls me home
To a place that longs
To be purged.
Summoning me
To a realm where
I must be burned,
Offered unto the immolating flame,
So that I may
Rise anew.
I was born
To abuse
To chaos.
I was born
To a cruel world.
I was reared
To obey,
To bend,
To silence myself.
Thus,
I bound myself
To men,
To people,
Who sought
To ensnare,
To devour,
To lay claim
To me.
I don’t know if I have
Finally learned,
This lesson.
I sense it is still
Unfurling,
A slow dawning
In the chambers of my soul.
I am not resisting.
I am not well.
Yet I know
I shall be.
And this
Is the truest,
Most unvarnished
Confession
I have ever spoken
To myself.
-Anna Marie, Dragonfly Rose
 written on February, 8th 2026 @ 9am EST