these people
I can’t see them anymore
I don’t want to see them anymore
I have no desire to see them anymore
I never think about
phoning them or
messaging them or
stopping by to say “hi.”
I don’t care about
what’s happening
in their lives or
who they’re dating
or what memories
we had together
yet they insist, they demand
that I visit them
that I sit down with them
that I talk about nothing important
with them
and I can’t say no
because I know how it feels:
during those times,
when I was down and out
and needed someone
to turn to, to talk to
but there was no one around
I felt the terror & the darkness
constricting my cold and lonely heart
as all the vitality and connection was draining
from my ventricles of ire
like blood from a stone
and so much of that
over a lengthy period of time
has made me a lot stronger,
more independent from people
and maybe even borderline aloof
from all human interaction
I no longer need them
I no longer want them around
but I can’t let anyone
feel that same way
that I felt
so long ago.
pitiful.