I always feel different after a break up
Not in the ways you expect
But stronger in a sad way
In Survival Mode I feel prettier
I feel more capable and older and wiser
My hair falls nicer
I'm slimmer and taller

Survival Mode reminds me of flings past
Suppressed crushes
Surfacing above new earth

But the earth is made of bricks
And they keep getting stepped on
Until eventually
Love lost becomes the past
And the bricks break into pieces
And when I clean them up
The soil shows itself

And Survival Mode is on standby
And the heart will go back up
6 inches higher in my chest
Where it was before

And maybe I won't be as tall as I was in Survival Mode
But at least I knew myself in that time
To show perseverance and grace