dead horses

you're really hard on your ex's
she says,
she being a non romantic friend
that was never an ex.
she's good at holding the mirror
to my face.
I know, I know, I tell her.
it's the child in me, the anger,
the ego, the lack of self esteem
rearing its ugly head.
when someone hurts me,
when someone is a fake and a liar,
I have tendency to lash out.
fire all the barrels in the pen,
and reload.
she nods. I get it she says.
I really do, but you have to let
them off the floor at some point.
ever heard the term, beating a
dead horse?
i'd never do that to a horse,
I tell her.