every woman knows

every woman knows
that you don't simply lose your innocence
you vomit it up
one heartbreak at a time
choking on wails from the seat of your holiness
as you release glitter-winged butterflies
to fend for themselves in the world

every woman knows
that you don't go a day
without silently praying for their safety
imagining that they still exist somewhere out there
hoping that the pieces of you
that left
have fared better than the ones that had to stay and bear it

every woman knows
that the emptiness never fades
or is filled
so we make it our duty to extract as much beauty out of the numbness as possible
it is why we are the creators
witches, priestesses, magicians
mothers
we are birth-givers and masters of resurrection
piecing together dead dreams from nothing but memory