Contributor: Dorian J. Sinnott

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You promised me we’d wait for the sunset,
When evening fell and the land turned dark
Stretching shadows across my memory—
Haunting images of who we used to be.
But you promised we’d stay

Safe.

‘No one can hurt you’ you used to say,
But I sat by and watched as their words
Spit fire and venom and tore you in two.
Broke you and beat you
And still you swore one day we’d be free

Here.

They left a hole in your heart,
One too deep to ever be filled.
And they tore the smile from your face,
Hollowed you out and left you bitter.
And now there’s no one left to be

With.

But you never lost hope
Or the love that you gave me,
And your strength pulled me through,
Every day your pain saved me
But I never before stopped to thank

You.

You traded your smile so that mine could shine,
Through shadows and dark alleyways of life.
Your beacon burned out long ago,
Beneath the words and threats and lies.
But mine is eternal—
You said mine is eternal.

And you promised me we’d wait for the sunset,
When evening fell and the land turned dark.
The sun has long set on the bright-eyed boy I once knew,
But as the colors line the sky
I see a glimpse of how he used to be in you.

And you said,

“I traded my smile so that yours can shine forever,
And so you’ll keep smiling day in and day out.
Never lose what’s inside you;
They can’t take away the love I have for you,
And remember that you’ll always be
Safe here with me.”

Each sunset is just a promise for the dawn.


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Dorian J. Sinnott is a graduate of Emerson College's Writing, Literature, and Publishing program, currently living with his bossy cat in Kingston, New York. He loves English horseback riding, playing violin, and cosplaying his favorite childhood characters at comic cons. Dorian's work has appeared in Coffin Bell, Spill Yr Guts Horror Zine, The Hungry Chimera, and Crab Fat Literary Magazine.