This Is Not A Breakup Poem

This is not a breakup poem

This is not me liquifying when I open my eyes in the morning

This is not my furious animal tearing at my chest to control the thrashing inside

This is not the bile that burns my throat

And this is not the hollow in my abdomen

This is not a breakup poem

This is not your static sobs and back-breaking voice cracks

This is not your acid apology

This is not your deadly uncertainty

And this is not the jagged shards of yourself

This is not a breakup poem

This is not the blood bursting from my scraped elbows and knees

when I went head over heels because you promised you would catch me

This is not my pavement-smacked stinging palms

This is not the gravel in my wounds from when you let go too soon

This is not a breakup poem

This is not your whiskey bottle on the shelf at the foot of my bed,

a gentle reminder that now I have nightmares alone

This is not the toothbrush and the hair gel and the speakers and the things that have more staying power than you

And this is not a breakup poem

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