I am lying on the floor by Liz Howard

I am lying on the floor & you are standing over me & you are saying things & you are saying things at me & you are yelling & I cannot hear what you are yelling & you are reinforcing your abuse with your behavior & you are denying your abuse while reinforcing your abuse with your behavior & I am breaking & I am bleeding out colorless, invisible ink & I am dying & you are winning & this is you winning: me curled up, dying & people tell me it will be okay & people tell me I am strong & here I am & here I am & here I am wishing there was no reason to be strong

Liz Howard is an Adjunct Instructor of English and a professional writing tutor at multiple colleges. She is in love with her two-year-old and the City of Philadelphia. Her writing is short and frantic, just like her. She tweets @Mother_Faulkner.