squiggle
wiggle
etch
sketch
shake shake shake.
make a box
long lines
paint some
"i'm fine"s
shake shake shake.
if i could define
the rhyme
and meter
of my life
there'd be a knife
in there
somewhere
shake shake shake.
break
broken
breaker
empty
lake
shake shake shake.
rattle the sand
inside of me
mix it up
try to hide me
shake shake shake.
kick the wall
say "**** it"
cry in the hall
of your school
get laughed at by some tool
in skinny jeans
quake
shake shake shake.
retake
try to erase
that last mistake
(who's to blame?)
remake
everything
but it's not the same
shake
shake
                                          
    
                 s                                   a                                         e
           h                                       k

1.  you had beanie babies...
a lot of them
you shared your magazines
and forced me to join your club
i later ripped up our contract
and threw it at your face
but i was only eight

2. i liked the way you sat in the cold metal chairs
during church
you sat like you owned the place
and not God
hunched over
your knees spread
scowling
at everything;
me

3. you'd get hurt on purpose
and then cry
so all the girls would come running
to comfort you
i really liked you
until then

4. you came over to my house
to see my sister
you called me
"Other World-Girl"
because i knew things
you didn't

5. i met you on an online rpg game
i needed help with some quest
that involved dwarves
you were a high level
mysterious
12 years old
you talked a lot about
steak
and naked women
we're still friends
today

6. i met you at an over night youth event
about world hunger
you had the most alluring smile
i hit you with a football
in the head
in a gym
i was fourteen
you called me
your joyous red
we hugged
tightly
and often

6. the cousin of number three, you were gangly
barrel chested
a skater punk
parkouring through my chest
making fun of me
always

7. you were from argentina
i met you once
and liked you because you read and wrote
like i did
you asked me
about a song
you hardly spoke english
but after you went back to your country
we talked on facebook
for three years

8. i don't remember how i met you
it was kind of
sneaky
you had curly brown hair
freckles
every time i walked into a room
you yelled "here comes trouble!" and smiled
mrs. geiger told us
at a dance
that we were
a cute couple
you blushed a lot
and danced with me
all night
thea told me
that you liked me
i stopped seeing you
after a year or two
i miss you,
theo

9. i met you in chicago
a mexican
japanese-speaking
artist
gone violinist
i wrote on the wall of your bedroom
it was short-lived
you gave me a lot of
popsicles

10. a fuzzy-headed
jewish trumpet player
you always made dead-baby jokes
and something about jesus and boats
you could hit really high notes
on your trumpet

11. i was sixteen
you liked a girl i hated
you threw frisbees really well
another trumpet player
metal head
you dated her for a while
then she broke up with you
and got pregnant
with some ugly guy
and married him
but i guess this isn't about her
you came back last summer
and wanted to give me a massage
sing with me
hold me
i said
no

12. you played tommy djilas
in the music man
i was mrs. paroo
you loved lady gaga
still do
you're really funny
and dorky
but you liked my older sister

13. you were a lot older than me
i started liking you
when you shaved
the disorderly ***** hair
off your chin
you read the bible
a lot

14. i can't remember your actual name
i think it was mike
or something
i called you
california
your family kicked you out
and you moved in with my bestfriend
you were
so funny
we were
bestfriends

15. your brother asked me out
i said no
i liked you because i was bored
you had a nice ****
i dunno
17 is a weird age

16. you called me your
hippy
you were really muscular
and had nice hair
you always smelled really good
you were kind of short
and a player
you always wanted
to arm wrestle me
i always
said no

17. i liked you
for a total of a day and a half
you got so annoying
i started to wish you'd
fall off the face of the planet

18. the third trumpet player i've liked...
they all turned out badly
guess i should stay away from them
metal head
socially awkward
you wore sunglasses constantly
you had an unhealthy obsession
with ducktape
and bacon
you gave me a bacon mint once
i spit it out
i stopped liking you
after you became a gentleman

19. i didn't really actually like you
i liked that you liked me
you were really annoying
and if i didn't respond to a text
within ten minutes
you sent me forty more
just to make sure i was still breathing
ugh

20. you had me at the word
heinous
you were really muscular
and you had the prettiest brown eyes
you'd call me in the park
between calling
all those other girls
you turned out to be
the worst mistake of 2012
glad that's over

21. you were some creepy viking-like person
from alabama
a bible beater
who didn't believe in singing with instruments
you were bearded
really arrogant
and rude
i really don't know why i liked you

22. your guitar
could never stay tuned
after a while
it just sounded horrible
you used long words
thought i was hilarious
always tried to touch my hair
tickle my neck
i stopped liking you
after hearing you talk to your little brother
that i loved
so nastily
for talking to me

22. you're in my english lit class
you have a really **** brooklyn accent
a deep voice
and the most curious, interested stare
i ever saw
i liked you a lot
until i found out you have a girlfriend
named anna
i've always hated
that name

23. you're my
bestfrand
not friend
frand
you force me to watch scary movies with you
just so someone will hold you
when i'm scared
we talk every night
you told me that you loved me
and then apologized
i think i've stopped loving you
but every time you tease me
hate everyone who flirts with me
post funny pictures on my wall
make me stay up
because you can't sleep
give me kittens
sing thrift shop with me
show me ridiculous videos
smile at me
like you do
i can't be
sure

i'm
pointless
like the shape of the earth,
rounded
without any
resolve...
floating away.

too many things
are kidnapped by my gravity
(a gravity i wish i didn't have)
and made to revolve
around me.

existence
is futile
but must be done
for if i die...

everything dies