They tore her name from my hands,
as if love were a toy they could confiscate.
I stood silent,
anger burning my throat,
hurt weighing down my chest.
Katie—
not gone by choice,
but stolen by command.
A love uprooted,
not because it withered,
but because they feared its bloom.
Now I sit in the ruins,
palms still aching from the grip,
heart still reaching for what I was forced to release.