We don’t speak anymore
As school closes, and we move on
I wanted to thank you
For being there for me
Being my person
The one who we could talk and ***** and in the end
None of it mattered

Thank you for being there at my best and worst moments
Ready to console me if you could
For putting up with me
Even though I could be annoying

Thank you for being there
To ground me to reality
For being the first to know
For so many things

After all we went through
I never thought it would end like this — with naught but a poem to say
Thank you

I stand there in the shower
Music playing as I contemplate next year
My pulse quickens
My vision blurs
Hands numb I sit on the shower floor
The water pouring onto my back
Mixing with my tears as they run into the drain
I see my future
Swirling down with my tears
Beck singing faintly in my ears
I’m a loser, baby, so why don’t you **** me
...

My whole life I’ve been a piece to a different puzzle
I’ve been the extra piece
Found in the bottom of the box
A piece from a different set wanting so desperately to belong
So I cut pieces from myself
Warped and mangled who I am so I fit into spots left vacant by lost pieces
But those pieces get found
So I have to leave the place I called home
Surrounded by people I called friends
But the wounds never heal
So warped and mangled I move on
Hoping I belong somewhere
Hoping I’m not just a piece destined to be forgotten when dropped on the floor
To be forever lost and alone
Warped and mangled I wait
Hoping for my true home
But I may not fit anymore

Behind a frame hanging on my bedroom wall
Are those letters, the ones I never sent
Folded nicely into an old Altoid tin
Packed with the rings and an old lighter
Behind that frame is a whole other life
I read those letters
Thinking of how mad I was
How much I changed
How lucky I am she forgave my harsh words
I tried on the rings and they fit just the same as they had almost exactly a year ago
*******, that was a year ago
A year ago Friday I took those rings
A year ago Friday I had my first kiss
A year ago next Saturday I had my heart broken
And words started flying from pen to paper
Behind the frame is another life
One I look back on in wonder and curiosity
Behind the frame is a box with two rings and two letters never sent
And I’m glad I didn’t

I’ve been isolated from the world
Nobody but my family to talk to
And they don’t know **** about me

I need to tell them, I want to tell them
But I’d have nowhere to run if I needed

I’ve been isolated
Keeping to my video games and created worlds
Exploring until the repetition sets in

I need something to do
But there’s nothing around

I’ve been isolated
Kept from my friends and my people
Wishing I could talk face to face

I need to talk to one of them, explain everything
But they ignore my texts, snaps, and dms

I’ve been isolated
Listening to my brain say that I’m not worth ****
With nobody to tell me otherwise

I need an embrace to calm my anxieties
But we’ve been banned from touching

I’ve been isolated
And most people are leaving and hanging out
Meeting with friends like it’s a normal ******* day

I NEED OUT
BUT YOU ******* CAN’T STAY INSIDE
LONG ENOUGH TO LET THE *******
VIRUS DIE

We’ve been isolated
but nobody gives a ****

Here it is, the oh so important letter
The white paper marked with the district seal
I unfold the trifolded letter inside, hands shaking
Dear Atticus Wilson,
We wish to offer congratulations,
Though you miss many milestones,
We are happy to announce that you will graduate this year.
Congratulations,
Stay safe.
I close my eyes and take a deep breath in
That’s it — the farewell I get
I’m done with high school,
And am ready to move on with my life

Sticks and stones may break my bones
But your words drove me to use them