I thought this was love

I do this because I love you, spoken gently

Broken, beaten, bruised

Is this what love should feel like?

Fighting, tears, hurt

I cannot escape these nightmares

Two years of "because I love you, you can't.."

Love is not abuse, nor is it the suffering

Tears in your mother's eyes because though she knows what is happening to you, she just cannot help.

"I do this because I love you"

She doesn't fight back, doesn't stand up.

Apologies and hugs, "I'll never do this again"

But because I have learned to love myself, I leave.