The mouth that bites

I always wonder about couples who are constantly crabbing at each other. Do they act like that when they are alone?  I want to avoid that rut.

Why do I always think that I will be able to maintain a better relationship than my parents can/could?

Timing is pretty crucial I guess.  All my relationships have lasted less than a year, so clearly I'm not the expert.

So this is a series of haikus I wrote for my creative writing class.  As usual, the title disappoints me but oh well.

trust

do not be afraid
to starve the mouth that bites you
keep your limbs intact

do not feed the wolves
elbows and fists are weapons
that you might not need

treat fear as a guest
that has overstayed all your
hospitality

when you cannot run
from the clawings of monsters
then you must bite back