Once.

Bright eyes like the stars that peek out too early at twilight.
Except they're liars.
Soft lips like the skin of a child that doesn't know the meaning of innocence, and yet brings it to life.
Except they're poisonous.
How easily we trust the humble and lowly, forgetting to remember how they might have gotten so low in the first place.
The snake used to walk.
The cheater used to win.
Those who walk with their heads down once lifted their faces to the sun.
Once, the broken were loved.
Once, the broken were loved.