how are you
I’m good
I’m fine

how are you
I’m numb
I stare up at the ceiling sometimes
to think about nothing

how are you
if I told you
you wouldn’t believe me
so I say nothing

you made me promise
to tell you
when things felt upside down
but they don’t.
I just feel empty

some days I don't even realize
how badly I’m bleeding
until I wake in a pool of my own
thoughts
sometime’s that’s worse than the blood.

I prefer wounded skin over a wounded mind
these thoughts are more than teenage angst
there is nothing angsty about it
there is nothing teen about it
it’s simply the rotting of my mind
cellular decomposition of my optimism

how are you
my every breath is weighted
most days there’s no escape
but no, I’m fine

but no, I’m not fine
cut me from these ropes that tie me down
loosen the chains around my ankles
give me a moment of peace in this misery
give me a moment of feeling through the numb