to miss someone is to
long for them uncontrollably

my mother tells me
she will miss me
now that i’m away
but she will not

she will miss having me
under her roof
to abuse and treat
like a dust rag

i’ve been around her
long enough to know
her threats are empty
sometimes i wish they weren’t

my father tells me
he will miss me as well
now that we won’t see
each other every day
he won’t miss me either

he will miss teaching me
how to be miserable
and he will miss having someone
to be miserable with

he silently swears the solution
to all problems in life
can be found
at the bottom of a bottle

i’ve searched through
all different proofs
and have found nothing
but isolation and darkness