Maybe there is a different side to her.

A side beyond the sweet nectar that drips from the kind words she speaks.

Beyond the sunshine that breaks through when she smiles at you—

the kind that makes your heart want to try again.

Maybe there is something hiding behind those eyes

that care so deeply for the world,

for those who are not her kin.

The way she loves even those who hurt her,

even when she recognizes the darkness they carry within.

Maybe it’s because she recognizes a part of herself in them—

a part she keeps buried deep inside her soul.

A side of her that knows if she ever truly unleashes it,

the little boys who played with her heart

would be shattered into a million pieces.

It’s the woman with her hand on your throat,

on top of you,

looking into your eyes and saying,

“You can feel in control,

but know—I am always in control.”

Maybe even she is terrified of that side of herself,

the one she keeps locked away.

But the more she is tested,

the more she is wrecked,

the more that side fights to be free.

She can no longer hold her back.

She is scared.

Because once she is unleashed—

no man stands a chance.