Animalistic

With you
my instincts are
animal

At first
I felt like a wild horse

somehow drawn to the man
but not wanting to be near him
angry
skittish
hating being contained

Then
I felt like a rescue dog
hiding
snapping
cowering in a
small
dark space

not trusting this man
because he reminds me of the others

but
this one doesn't hurt
this one
feeds
and
pets

this one lets me
come to him

which is scary
but
he doesn't hurt me

And now
the wild horse again
being taken through the panic for the first time
and
coming out with
a tiny bit of trust.

Not
broken yet
not
tamed
but the first small step towards it.
I can be in the same ring as you now

just on opposite sides of the paddock
I'll still
stamp
and kick up dust

but my eyes
are no longer showing their whites