they tell me
i am so good
with words
that they melt
right onto the page
from my mouth

yet why is it

every time i
open my mouth
i never know the
right thing to say
or the right things to feel

i am trying to guess
what everyone
wants to hear
to give them
what they want

yet i never seem
to be successful enough
at that

only with a pen and paper
am i enough
because i am just me
not what everyone
wants me to be

i text you asking
how life has been
after not speaking
for months
but
it feels like centuries

but when i ask
how its been
what i really
mean is

do you still have
that CD i gave you
after you dropped me
off at my house
after a night of playing
beneath the sheets
and roaming through
the veins of each others bodies

do you play the CD
while you are on tour
stuck in that small van
with nothing but
your own thoughts
to keep you sane

do you touch the CD
and feel my soft skin
as if i am right there

when you play the CD
does it skip a beat
just like
my heart does every time
i hear your voice on the radio

i guess what i am trying to say is

i miss you, do you miss me?

love does not hurt
love does not paint your body
into a mural of blues and purple
love does not raise his hands in anger
love does not use your weakness against you
love does not scare you into making choices
love does not isolate you from your
friends and family members
love is not you, John

i waited for you
to swallow your pride
but all you did
was choke on it

i finally have everything
i have ever wanted
in a human

yet it does not feel enough

he is kind
he is caring
he is artistic
he is hard working
he puts in so much effort for me

yet he is not you
he will never be you
i know that
i understand that

but ****
this is so hard

i am petrified
i will never feel
the way you made me feel

i have tried to fill
the cracks within my soul
with coconut oil
in hopes that it might
one day soften my sharp edges
and fill these empty voids
with meaning

i have tried to fill
the cracks within my soul
with cement
in hopes that it might
one day make me stronger
so no one could ever hurt me

it wasn't until
the coconut oil seeped
to the ground and
the cement crumbled
within the first earthquake of emotions
did i realize

these cracks within my soul
that i have spent years
of my life trying to cover up
make me who i am today

and that is enough