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1.4k · Jun 2013
Backbone
Barb Jun 2013
Massacred and double crossed
this is not me crying from loss
or sad poem about how everything I love
treats me like ****
this is me showing you how strong my back bone is
and how from this point I refuse to take any of it
Tear me to shreds
I'll put myself back together again
I'm not made of steal
and I will falter
but I am closer to resolve than I've ever been before
1.4k · Feb 2013
Nonsense
Barb Feb 2013
I looked at the address on my hand
and thought of how uncomfortable tomorrow would be
as I cupped water from the ***** sink
and splashed it onto my face

It must be depressing to live a life without any perspective
How lonely it would be to think you are the only one
I get this sickening feeling in the pits of my stomach
whenever I think of what it must be like to be you

I am trying to pass for normal on fake laughter
And half glances in your direction
We all look like sickly children who starve for attention
And I'm starting to remember all those things I never did

Fading in and out while stereos blast and people start to shout
There is thin ice beneath our feet
Nervous laughs start to rise from us
and we feel this epitome of what young is

There is this stupid smile on your face
And we are reconnecting the patterns of our lives
With a glassy look in our eyes
I am too far gone
1.0k · Feb 2013
Forgetting
Barb Feb 2013
Burn your skin
on accident
while
setting fire
to your bedsheets
because
she slept in them
and you rather them turn to
ashes
than have to remember her finger tips
against your skin
every time you try to rest
1.0k · May 2013
Close Your Eyes
Barb May 2013
Criss cross
Applesauce
Spiders running down your back
I climbed out my window
and jumped
I acquired a few bruises
but not from the fall
His breath reeked of stale beer
The first time I had no where to turn
The outcome of abuse and soft kisses
a mean look in your eyes
pumpkin pie
I hope you survive
quite whispers of melodies
your mother used to sing
salt water tastes like childhood
Cool breeze
Tight squeeze
Now I've got the shiveries
999 · Feb 2013
Holding on
Barb Feb 2013
We climbed under bed sheets in our day clothes
and I remembered how soaked my moccasins were
thinking of the salt stains that would soon be there
and how pretty you looked when your eyes were closed

My eyes fought exhaustion with drooping lids
and I drank black coffee like I needed it to live
we washed away our secrets from the day in muddled whispers
and soon decided to go for a cigarette

Climbing out of bed like skeletons from coffins
Dressing for the weather in hats and jackets with boots
We ran across the street and almost slipped on the ice
six times

In the back yard of an old abandoned house
We stood facing the the water
I could swear you were changing
beneath the street lights and heavy breathing

It’s time for me to let go of this
but I don’t know if I’m strong enough
I’m worried that this won’t be good for you
I just can’t keep doing this to myself
906 · Jun 2013
I Never Asked for This
Barb Jun 2013
I've been told
by the lighthearted
that it is called the present because
it is a gift
but I still find myself with crossed fingers
hoping for a receipt at the bottom of the bag
849 · May 2013
Small Discoveries
Barb May 2013
I peeled back the mask and gazed into
the endless portals that made up my eyes
Dipping fingers into the pools of water
cheek bones
piano keys
teeth
self-discovery
The water rolls down my fingers
but I can’t seem to get it off my skin
It clings to me and stings
This water is holy and I am paper thin
A demon lies within
I whisper to myself
A reminder to hold myself at night
but not too tight
do not wake my sin
Crack me open
But gently
I will spill
A pool of galaxies
Infinity
And everything that makes up each and every one of you
Something deeper
Something beautiful
821 · Mar 2013
Childhood
Barb Mar 2013
I want to tell you about
running in the woods
and having your face whipped by tree branches
while your step-father calls from the porch
drunk off infamy
and I want to tell you about
hiding in hollow trees
so your mother does not see the bruises
only to ignore them
I want to tell you about how easy it is
to become a lonely child
for the rest of your life
and how friendly you can get
with the smell of decay
But I won't
800 · Sep 2013
Enough
Barb Sep 2013
I've smoked all these cigarettes
but I still don't know what "I love you" tastes like
I know hands againsts skin and a face on fire
shaking hands and heartache
but someone tell me
What does I love you taste like
what does it feel like against a hollow ear
I know his fingers on my spine, but not a print on my soul
not one steady syllable
I'm not old enough to say that I've felt it all
but I've felt enough
to feel this sickening ache deep in the pits of who I am
each time I get close enough these words are like sand
running through the cracks between my trembling digits
I swallow down every thought like a hand full of rocks
My throat is screaming raw
I've become too afraid to feel things that I cannot put into words
and to say I want nothing more than to see you
is not enough
because I want everything
including your voice
pressing hot words against my skin instead of finger tips
I want 'I love yous' in my eardrums
but all I get is the sound of my heart beating
and that's starting to sound like a gental lie
I've smoked all these cigarettes
My mouth is desert dry
I cannot force the words out
There is a faint buzzing in the back of my brain
it's more like a thousand wasps
The sound of every "I love you" that's ever been lost
783 · Mar 2013
For the Rest
Barb Mar 2013
Do you feel yourself giving in
or does it happen so gradualy
that you wake up one day
and you find yourself in too deep
Our arms are swinging back and forth
Screaming for fun like children
and spining in circles until
our legs give
I am writing the past down on napkins
in restaurants
with old coffee
and I am at the point of realization
that everything means nothing to me
with the stale smell of smoke
I fall backwards
and hope someone will catch me
for once this seems to be the right thing
it never is
757 · Jun 2013
Open
Barb Jun 2013
I scrapped my soft skin on the gravel
and they asked me why I bled so much
It's the one thing I do best
I'd rather scab over
and try to heal
but I can't stop the sensation of opening old wounds
Every time I pour myself a drink
I can't help but think of my father
my grandmother
and everyone else I cannot will myself to call
so I bled out to voice mail messages
and try not to hurt anyone else
but I just can't help myself
I am addicted to pain and holding grudges
I forgive those who don't deserve it
just so I can go back again
and scar myself even more
Every time I know I have to hurt someone
I remeber every sad face I've ever seen
My stomach is nausea
I am trying so hard to act like I'm not even phased
but my facade is cracking under all of this weight
I cannot stop this chain smoking habit
because then I'll begin to gnaw at my finger tips
and lord knows I can't bare to lose any more blood
740 · Feb 2013
Runoff
Barb Feb 2013
I am so sick of writing
these pretend
love stories
and stupid poems
all about you
and everyone else
who has ever showed me
the slightest attention
But I am addicted to
these little make believe
notions
and making myself into
something extraordinary
673 · Jun 2013
Cheers
Barb Jun 2013
chasing cheep liquor
with the taste of defet
and the sound of birds in the morning
I kissed you on the cheek
and told you
that I could no longer love you
662 · Feb 2013
Wax
Barb Feb 2013
Wax
You are out in harsh weather
braving the cold
And I am home
rapped in warm blankets
While the walls melt and
drip like wax
I think there’s a fire
I can smell smoke
But the wall is dripping onto my face
and nothing has ever felt so good
My apologizes for the disarray
I can’t seem to get myself out of bed
and I’m afraid I’ve lost my head
in wax
Come find me in the morning
after I’ve passed
and promise to hang my skeleton up
like a Christmas decoration
604 · Mar 2013
Poison
Barb Mar 2013
I am screaming
but not loud enough
you are convulsing in the bathtub
while the silky porcelain burns your skin
and the blood pools in your back
I am banging tiny fists against locked door
Calling you back
and begging your distant eyes
to look at me
******* your skin is too cold
and your bones
they have broken
I rap my arms around your hollow body
and sink into the idea of becoming the past
527 · Apr 2013
Raw
Barb Apr 2013
Raw
Double shot of expresso
and I'm screaming inside
You're tearing yourself open right before my eyes
and I am nodding my head
as if to say it is all alright
And I know that you love her
and that I am the
confidant
you spill secrets to me in dimly lit rooms
and with the children screaming
we run away
with the one I should keep you from
and he flirts from the front seat
Batting eyelashes like the pretty girls do
We are catastrophes
but we just can't let go
and maybe that's the reason
my heart is so ******* full
515 · Mar 2013
Futile
Barb Mar 2013
I've lost myself
rhyming with reason
and listening to the abivilant symphony
of what it feels like to be
They are calling me back
while I argue with the past
and tell them no
I have moved on
They will not take no for an answer
I try to find rest with in this
but  always seem to wake up screaming
I am finding my own way
to make do
with the cards I've been handed
and the time I've been given
to make things right
one foot forwad
but I'm taking twelve steps back
506 · Mar 2013
The Truth
Barb Mar 2013
I'm sorry,
but do you mind if I light one up?
You see, I can't deal with the public
unless I'm slowly killing myself
You can join me
I don't advise it
being so desperately lonely
with people around
isn't too good for your health
Don't have too much concern
they can care
but I sure as hell won't
in due time we'll all be dead
just like the rest
I was always the stranger
you knew too well
but not enough to trust
503 · Feb 2013
A Final Warning
Barb Feb 2013
Even if eaten fresh
I will rot your insides
The loathing that I carry in my bones
is poison
I like to take pictures
of my sadness
and hang them up on
the walls
of my soul
I wear sweaters of sorrow on warm evenings
and I cry only
when I’m happy
That’s not even the half of it
This is my final warning
I am devouring smiles
and picking apart my existence
like a vulture
on a corpse
Barb Jun 2013
Sometimes I get sick to my stomach
and I look at old photographs
Trying to teach my self how to remember again
Sometimes I can feel the shallow cracks beneath my skin
With every long drag and stomach cramp
I relearn the past
and the way a memory can still make my hands shake
I've remembered the feeling of being forgotten
and how it can hollow you out
I will still remember the smiles
Tight hugs
car rides
Bruises
heavy feet crashing against wet grass
while our hearts pounded
I will still remember the sadness in your voice late at night
no matter how much I am forgotten
441 · Apr 2013
The Beginning
Barb Apr 2013
We watch them sing from stages
laughing behind cupped hands
and they give us what we've always wanted
a single connection
We're driving fast
trying to stretch the moments
and save the tears
for later dates when we're all alone
to sink like weights in water
For now we'll sing songs we don't know the words of
and look at each other like we've been blind from the start
What is it with these shaking hands
every time I refuse to look back
422 · Feb 2013
Untitled
Barb Feb 2013
As the night drags on
Your eyelids become far too heavy to hold up
Tongue starts to swell
And swallowing becomes a challenge
Your eyes are dry
Your neck is tight
Suddenly the mind can’t help
But to drift
To a darker place
Far to cold
You shiver into sleep
And hope
It’s brighter in the morning
371 · Apr 2013
Never
Barb Apr 2013
I climbed up so high
swinging from the branches
and watching the sunset
I was bound to get a few scratches when I came down
but never did I expect
broken bones
351 · Jun 2013
Untitled
Barb Jun 2013
This hallway smells like hospital
and he told me to get the hell out
I'm sure he meant before this school eats me alive
so next year I'll come back
with my head pulled out of my ***
and get on with my life

— The End —