Heartbreak stole my innocence long before I could put my childhood to bed.

At night I prayed; let the next one be good, let the next one be true.

Let the next one be kind, let the next one be honest.

One after the other, I learned and learned.

With every lesson the vision of what love ought to be grew so far from my childlike view.

Still I prayed; let the next one be funny, let the next one not hide.

I braced myself over and over to survive what men do when they claim to love you. What they do when they claim to not.

I thought to stop praying, it felt foolish to ask for more pain when I sought out hope.

Yet I pray one last time for no more life lessons; let the next one be the last one.