I still see it

I can't feel a backstab until I've finished bleeding out.

I can't hear a gunfire until I'm heaving from the pain.

I sometimes can't even hear them say, Run!

Run, River!

Run as fast as you can, as soon as you can!

But I can't because I still see it.

Despite the betrayal, I see the closeness that comes with a shared cigarette after a closing shift.

Despite the slashes in my tires, I see the surprise birthday cake.

The poems.

The love, real or fake.

I still see it.

They tell me to run, but it's no use.

Stubborn feet. Defiant thighs.

Run, River! Run!

He lights me on fire and leaves me to burn.

But it all falls on deaf ears.

Despite the suffocating smoke, I'm standing there, refusing to collapse because I still see it.