take only what's yours.

lovelysuggestion:

my lover comes home from the war with bleeding teeth. he touches me like he’s scared he’s going to break me, like he’s scared that if he presses too hard i’ll bruise. when we kiss he draws back inside himself, when we laugh he never really seems to be laughing. my lover comes back from the war with darkened eyes. he is gentle with me, so gentle. so soft. he says sorry a thousand times a day, says i love you with a desperation that makes us both breathless. gentle. when i ask him why he can’t be that way with himself, he doesn’t reply. my lover comes home with bruised knuckles and sunken cheeks. in the nights i hear him crying and in the mornings i wake with his head pillowed on my chest and his heart cradled in my hands.  my lover comes back to my daily, but daily we flinch at his new wounds. scattered across his wrists, in his eyes, in the way he startles at every small sound. my lover has always returned, but sometimes we’re both afraid that one day he just WON’T anymore.