i unscrew
my head
like a lightbulb
and
let all
my thoughts
spill out

if i hand you
my head,
will you see
that
i’m dead?
can
it
be?
is this
the end?

a better me
doesn’t exist
at least,
not yet
but i’m trying to
tiptoe my way
there
and for now
i’ll take
what i can get

all the flags
waving in front
of me are red
and the thoughts
of dread
and feelings of
excitement
are fighting
violently
in my head

there’s something
about having to hide
that makes me
feel dead
inside
but at the same time
i hate seeing myself
and all my ugliness
in the light
maybe this is wrong
maybe it’s the only thing
that’s right
in my life

i don’t know
anymore
i can barely
even
sleep at night

i know i’m a **** up
and even when i
really
really
try
the efforts are
pointless
i end up
stuck
again
and
again
with no end in sight
never even
dreaming or hoping
that i’ll end up
on top
or even in the middle
i’ll keep bringing
myself back down
to the bottom
until
the hole is deeper
than the darkest
part of the ocean

Once, the static in my brain
Aligned so perfectly with the rushing in my veins
That it became central to my consciousness.
Perceived by my ears as an ever-rising crescendo,
My heart swelled, radiating pin-****** - painfully,
Down to my fingertips.
I was immobilized by dread,
And capitulation to fear was imminent,
As I realized the presence
Of an unwelcome and terminal essence;
It was striving for control, unwilling to settle for less.
I at first tried to fight- but the hold was too strong;
My limbs were too weak to fend for myself,
My mind too frantic to offer help -
So I accommodated instead, and ever since.

attempts to create connections
always seem so inauthentic
it feels more natural
to push people away
so that i don’t have to
experience
the rejection
on my end

i don’t think i’ve ever
been comfortable
inside my own skin
but i try to find ways
to learn to love me
and when i fail
to find a way
to make that happen
i push everyone else away

i’m my own punching bag
no one could be as cruel to me
as i am
and i think the reason
i beat myself up
so badly
is to keep
anyone else
from being able
to hurt me

maybe it’s not about
what i’m trying to find
and it’s not about where i’m searching
i might just be a square peg
trying to fit myself
into a round hole

i’m not made for this world
the rotting brain in my head
whispers secrets to me daily
about how i’d be better off dead
and i don’t even hang on
because i want to
i do it because i am too afraid
that if i let go
i’ll be remembered for all the things
people think i am
when in reality,
no one should cry when i’m gone

the days keep getting harder
i try to laugh
because it’s the medicine
i have the easiest access to
but the fake smiles i paste to my face
can’t replace everything i’ve lost
and all that i’ve thrown away

my potential fades more and more
each day
and i keep getting wasted
so the feelings all fade
until the sun rises again
and the past is replaced
with more of the same

sometimes i like to say ****
solely to **** people off
and it often backfires
because they’re either too ignorant
to realize what i’m trying to say
or they just think i’m cute
and sweet
only to laugh it off
without thinking twice
“she can’t mean it that way,
she’s too nice”

i feel so alone
i always run hot
but i feel so cold
every time i think
i have found a friend
i still have to force myself
into a shape i don’t recognize
trying to shift my muscles
and my bones
in a way that fit the mold
so i can be stomached
by others
and seen
the way they want
to see me
in their eyes

it’s different with you
and that’s why this is so hard
because you’re so far
and even though we’ve never met
i feel like
i connect
with so much
of what you are
but the reality is
we may always be apart
i want to hold you in my heart

even if
i am always here
and you’re
always there
it takes a lot
to break through
the walls i am constantly
trying to build
and rebuild
and make me admit
how much i care

but i am glad
i’ve let you in
i hate
and love
how much
you make me grin

it’s
not
real

it can’t be
can it?

this

stupid

pathetic

adoration

that
i
feel

it picks away
at my head
trying to
get through
my thick skull
and
attempting
to leave me in
a puddle
of
my own
disgusting goo

but i can only fight
so hard
i don’t know what to do

i feel sick to my stomach
over how
badly i want you

this stupid ****** brain
and repulsive ******* heart
keep trying to **** me
but instead i remain
repeating the same
actions
that have
been leading me
to the same place
where every time i wake up here
i don’t recognize my own face
and it gets harder and harder
not to blow out my brains
when it’s like
my entire existence
is a joke
just a mean-spirited prank
like maybe this could have been funny
but it’s gone too far
and i don’t know why
i ever pretended to laugh
it would be
much funnier
to take my toaster
in the bath

unless there’s something
that i missed
the right direction
doesn’t exist
and i’m left
endlessly wandering
as i’m clumsily
stumbling
into
walls
there’s nothing
at all
nowhere i belong
none of this
adds up
life doesn’t
make any ******* sense
it’s all wrong

i don’t know
what’s a bigger mess
this meat in my head
or this thing in my chest
they’re both ******* stupid
always trying to see who’s best
when in reality
they’re both ****** up
so there’s really
no contest

i try to be funny
because when
i make people laugh
i can trick myself
for a moment
into thinking i’m happy
and when those moments end
it all comes rushing back
all the thoughts of
self hatred
the fear of inadequacy
the disgust of my complacency
and then i remember all over again
why i keep ending up
back here
in this hole
but it doesn’t matter
what i know
i just don’t
care enough
to make things better
i just hope
i don’t grow old