Cavities

You were convulsing in the next room

So I lay awake in bed

Prayed to a God I don't believe in

So that he may keep you safe

I could hear my father's fingers

Carve their way into the wood of your door frame

Mother shaking

As your eyes rolled back into your head again

Just as we thought death would prevail

Febrile response gave way to pale

Cavities to fingernails

Anxiety had left me frail

But I felt then as I feel now

Despite the detriment you've faced

It is your warmth that's made me proud

Though I barely remember

It was you who smoothed my ache

In the depth of my depression

I thought my life was mine to take

But I am forever in your debt

For things that you could never say

All the love that I have felt

You gave, with no intention to take

I am as the moon

Any affection that my glow is the subject of

Belongs to you

For I am nothing more than a reflection of you

And your love