"I don't agree with your decision" she said
With a grim look on her face
I nodded quietly and bit my lip
I knew that's what she'd say
"It's too soon" she argued
"You're just going to get hurt"
I nodded again and cleared my throat before saying
"I just have to know"
"Do you have a problem with him being an athiest?"
And I know it's a trick question
But I say no anyway
And she nods and might as well have said I'll learn my lesson
As she explains how this will work
I nod and inwardly comment about how my relationships are always more theirs than mine
But I guess we just have to bear with them
Oh I hope you won't mind
Just smile and nod along
That's what I do every time

i stuffed a lighter in my pocket before I fell apart
hiding from the wind in an old shed out back, willing the flames to start
i pulled out the first shred of picture, all corals and reds
coaxing it closer to the flame until the ashes are grey and dead
with the first one i felt remorse
because what if i look back and things are even worse
my thumbnail breaks as i click the flames on again, holding a piece of his face
watching it melt until nothing is left in its place
i feel like i'm letting go of everything we had
the good, and even more so, the bad
the next ripped corner was for when you called me a *****
and as it fluttered to the ground i was over it
a corner of the dress i hated so much
then a shred of your hair that you had just cut
and as the last piece of the picture went up in flames
i looked down at my broken nails and burned fingertips, saying "now i'll be okay."