mental illness is the
most expensive thing
i've ever owned but
never wanted

You left like I wasn’t reason to stay
Not being heartless I’m just using my heart less

All I wanted was your time but that was a crime

Wrapped up in misery you became a mystery
Two peas in a pod estranged from one another
Almost inevitable
All you had to do was stay.

We are the poor.
We have no wealth.
Don't ask about our mental health
In fact walk past us.
Don't ask why
Just do not look us in the eye
Especially if you knew us before
When we wore socks and brushed our teeth
And hadn't given up and sank beneath
The awful maelstrom in our brain
Of fear, pain and damning shame.

We are the shadow people
But I see you,
And I know that you have shadows too.

As the rose-colored spatter
ran across the wall
This genius in budding
felt no remorse at all
Possessed by a craving
for a special shade of red
to complete the special masterpiece
that had always been in his head
He dipped his brush into some blood
that had spilled upon the floor
His masterpiece might have to wait
The police are at the door

we do not write poetry
we write mirrors
which are held up
to curious faces
who read
looking for their
own reflections