I kicked a rock
On my way back home
It was a beautiful day
No clouds, no snow

I was down the street
Getting the mail
A dog was barking at me
And wagging his tail

It was neither hot
Nor cold
It was a beautiful memory
That I will forever hold

But that rock reminded me
Of something peculiar
But I didn't know what it was
It was unfamiliar

How could I remember?
I've seen so many rocks
I couldn't think of anything
Like I had writers' block

I knew there was something
I just had to think deep
And if I don't figure it out
I would feel incomplete

And then it hit me
At the speed of light
I've used this rock before
In the middle of the night

I felt the guilt again
It ran through my veins
It was the night my favorite shirt
Became bloodstained

"It couldn't be," I said
"I thought you disappeared"
An idea came to my mind
And I froze in fear

I turned the rock over
And I saw some blood
"Yes" I assured myself
"This is the one"

It was that misty night
In 1993
When the love of my life
Let go of me

It wasn't an average break-up
Not average indeed
He pushed me so hard
I fell to my knees

He was supposed to be on his knees
But he pushed me to mine
So I took the rock and branded his body
My name was what I signed

At that moment it hit me
The love of my life is dead
I tried so hard to remember
But all I want to do is forget

I came back to my senses
And took the rock in my hand
I squeezed it as hard as I could
And came up with a plan

I never understood why he pushed me
But my life with him was good
I never wanted to be alone
But alone I stood

I grabbed the dull end of the rock
The sharp side facing me
I remembered my promise with him
"Forever we will be"

I prepared for my last breath
Right then I exhaled
I branded my body
Silence prevailed

I fell to the ground
On my knees once more
Ready to see the love of my life
Mi amor

My mail soaked up my blood
Diminished I will be
The bracelet around my ankle was unhooked
I am free

No longer alive
My soul is above my body
The truth and blood
Both engulf me

Two people have gone
Out of this world
Branded by one rock
Are a boy and a girl

The rock can be known
As nothing or all
And unlike money
It can't be withdrawn

I can no longer breathe
Inhale or exhale
I branded two bodies
Silence prevails

You are not a nice person
You are racist
You are sexist
Therefore, I don't love you

You are not a moral person
You hit
You harm
Therefore, I don't love you

You are not a good friend
You break promises
You break hearts
Therefore, I don't love you

You are not a good player
You cheat
You lie
Therefore, I don't love you

You are not a good bandage
You sting
You rip
Therefore, I don't love you

You are not a good tissue
You don't dry
You don't help
Therefore, I don't love you

You paid for my meal
In full
With tip
Still, I don't love you

You picked me up when I fell
Grabbed my hand
Dusted the sand
Still, I don't love you

You taught me new things
To play
To draw
Still, I don't love you

You lead me the right way
Supported
Guided
Still, I don't love you

You helped me become me
Inspired
Enlightened
Still, I don't love you

You cushioned my fall
Protected
Preserved
Still, I don't love you

I don't love you
After all you've done
I still don't love you
After all you've done

I don't love you
Because you don't love me
And when one person loves
True love can never be

Say it.
Open those flattened, tear-stained lips and blame me
For all the ways I've protected you
And somehow done you wrong.

Say it.
Tell me all about the smallness of my heart
And the coldness of my eyes.
I can take it.

Say it.
Guilt me into remorse for your return
To self destruction
Like it's somehow
My fault.

Say it.
And I'll stand or sit here and I'll silently take
The full brunt of your tears
And rage.

You and I both know
There is nothing I can do
Because you are blinded by emotion
and you seem to enjoy the blackness.

So say it.
Stain your cheeks with tears like acid
And grow angry when I'm not the one who burns.
Spit the words into my face
And I'll stand
Silent
And watch you throw yourself from the edge of reason
Knowing I have no power
To hold you back.

Say it
and we'll go on.

Say it
and things will change the way they were always bound to.

Say it.
*Say it.

You forget
You forget that I've done this before.

I've stood in that spot sodden by tears,
Shivering in the snarling cold of loneliness
As my heart forgets how important it's supposed to be.

So you'll have to forgive me
For freezing solid
When I see that mirage of myself,
Stained in the hideous darkness of the past I've tried to forget.
You'll have to forgive me
For refusing to shed tears
Over the things that have already bled me dry.