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Valerie Jul 2019
Living in a cardboard jungle
Holding out hope for better days
Paper plates and greasy food
First grade drama club plays

Watching the pounds pack back on
As I sit on the couch in a haze
Wondering if this is going to change us
Wandering through my cardboard maze

Boxes on top of boxes
Everything ready to move
Silence then yelling then nothing
There’s nothing for me to prove

As he cries for the things he’s losing
I hold my first born, rocking him tight
Holding back tears of my own
Telling myself that I did what’s right

Squeezing through recycled tunnels
Doing what needs to be done
Living with the bare necessities
Until we finally get to move on

Here’s to a better life for us all
No drafty windows and no creaky floors
No secrets or worries or frustration
Just communication and open doors

A new school and new friends for my baby
A new home for our new family
A new start, and a new way of living
And hopefully, a brand new me.
Valerie Jul 2019
Wandering through this hostel, it was never quite my home
Different rooms, different people, different stories
How is it that their circumstances became my life…
Is it worth my time, my effort, my happiness… my sanity

Walking through the faux wood doorway, photos on the walls
Distant memories of what it was to laugh… and to love
Broken glass on the floor, the frames long ago shattered…
Much like our dreams of happily ever after.

My beautiful crimson sofa, turned into a bed.
The bed of a 60 year old alcoholic who I call dad
Tables converted to dressers, pill bottles litter the rug…
No longer a place to live, but a place to slowly die

An empty sink, an empty wine bottle, an empty fridge
What does it matter to cook a meal that won’t be eaten
Fast food wrappers fill the trash, among the cheap beer cans
Much like the stench of burnt coffee fills my nose

A ***** bathroom, for ***** boys, with whom I share this space
Toilet seat always raised, **** stains lining the bowl
Beard hair, toothpaste, razors… that dingy ring around the tub
A garbage full of used tissues, the floor littered with clothes

A closed door that leads to a black room, with black walls
Black metal, gory video clips from youtube, hateful faces flashing
Food wrappers litter the floor, along with knives and guns
Hatred and pain seep from the keyhole as I avert my eyes

To the trains and plains comforter, a dreamcatcher hangs nearby
Action heros, matchbox cars, an unmade bed, overtaken by imagination
The 13 inch t.v. switching between Disney and an old Gamecube
The smell of a sweaty mohawk, and a feeling of unabashed loved

Until finally I can retreat into hiding, to a bed with a story or two
Clothes to be folded, empty wine glasses, ******* on the bedside table.
I shy from the mirror that hangs on the wall, and drift off slowly to sleep
Drowning myself in forgetfulness, wishing it were that easy… to forget
Valerie Jul 2019
Please don’t ask me how I feel
Don’t ask if I’m okay
I’ll only tell you what you want
And need for me to say

Don’t ask me for a smile
When I can only frown
Don’t offer me well wishes
When all I feel is down

Don’t tell me funny jokes
Off color punch lines looming
I’m too far gone for laughing
My sadness all consuming

I’ll give you what you want
Fake happiness for now
And pretend that I’m okay
Believe me, I know how

But for each false smile I give
Each time I say I’m fine
My soul cracks just a little
My heart breaks one more time
Valerie Jul 2019
My incessant need for reassurance
Is all but lost on you
I seek affirmation again and again
And you simply smile

Not a deluge of flattery and praise
But a perpetual misting of kindness
Softly enveloping me
In the warmth of your sincerity

My worth no longer dependent
You don’t dare to claim it
Instead, with silent encouragement
You stand by my side
learning to be content with the lack of compliments and the excess kindness.
Valerie Jul 2019
Tell me how you feel
About your life
About me
Reassure me
Remind me
Just tell me how you feel

Hold me close to your heart
When you need it
And when I do
Squeeze me
Comfort me
Just hold me close to your heart

Give this thing a chance
You’re broken
I’m guarded
It’s too soon
And so perfect
Just give this thing a chance
Valerie Jul 2019
You said I’d be around for a while
So what if they didn’t like it.
So what if they didn’t like me.
You said you admired my strength.

You loved how I tried so hard.
You loved my tattoos and my style.
You told me I was a good mom.
You didn’t care about my history.

You didn’t want a nice Jewish girl.
You wanted someone fun.
Someone adventurous.
Someone care-free and open.

You looked at me differently.
Made me believe that you saw me.
And wanted to take care of me.
You said you saw past my past.

You said you’d keep me safe
And appreciate me for who I am.
But that was all *******, right?
You were just keeping me around.

Long enough to give you a baby.
And support your career.
And introduce you to real life.
And real experiences.

You kept me around, all right.
Long enough to ruin my credit.
And demolish my self worth
And wrap me in your sticky web.

So tangled that I couldn’t escape.
Trapped, until you were ready.
And then you cut the silky string.
And watched me tumble to the ground.

Fighting, the whole way down.
And you kicked me a little.
And laughed as I struggled.
And called me a ***** and a liar.

And you said I'm a bad mother.
Just like they wanted all along.
Once a mama’s boy, always one.
I'm sure she's so very proud of you.

I wonder if you feel better than me now.
Me with my tattoos and my stories.
You, ******* on your mommy’s ***.
Jerking off in your childhood bedroom.

Me, a single parent once again
Now with two failed marriages.
Comforting a teenager who hates you
And a two year old who shares your blood.

You, a thirty nine year old man
With nothing better to do
Than to try to make me miserable.
Little did you know, you were my misery.

Thank you for setting me free.
I wrote this after my husband and I split.  It's a bit harsh, but divorce will do that to ya.
Valerie Jul 2019
Breath, blink, bite, swallow.
No one wants to see you wallow.

Head back, eyes wide.
No one cares to see you cry

A single drop runs down your cheek
Stop it now. You’re not unique.

It doesn’t matter why you’re here
Or if you want to disappear

Stupid girl, just wipe your face
**** it up. Disgrace.
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