This is Not Love

"I love you, isn’t that enough?"
I wish it was.
I wish it with everything I am.
Because if that were true,
my love would be enough for all of us.

But your love
didn’t stop your angry fists.
Didn’t stop the scathing words
that sliced through my skin.
Didn’t stop
your hands
that wandered.

You told me
that it was love
that made you do those things.
Remember?
All the,
“I’m going to do this,
because I love you.”

If that is your love,
then I don’t want it.

Your “love”
is not a pass
for the lifetime I had to endure.

Love
does not absolve you.
Does not erase your deeds.
And love
will not save you
from judgment day.