you painted a beautiful sunset,
full of color and life,
and said it represented me.

you said i was art.

three months later,
you poured black over the canvas



(cjw)

what can I do to be good enough for you?

i’ll drop the pounds

i’ll wear the makeup

i’ll get the grades

i’ll force the laugh

but then

when you are left 

with this distorted image 
of a human being

who’s twisted and broken

crinkling at the edges 
and burning up

from the inside out
please don’t sneer 
in disgust.
when everything’s rolling together

and coming to a close

and you let me catch you

by the ends of your fingertips 

don’t flinch

from the artificial thing I became
for the sake
of winning you.