this is a poem about being sorry
because sometimes when you fall
you’re not the only one who ends up with skinned knees
i’m sorry for lies and hesitation
and an unwillingness to do what is right
i’m sorry that sometimes you still have the look in your eyes
that says you’re hurt and stupid words can’t fix that
and i’m sorry that “sorry” is just a stupid word
sometimes it is hard for me to look in the mirror
because i can only see that fictional character that i sculpted for myself:
a person created out of a selfish ache for the past, a person
with distorted priorities who would ignore every red flag and gut feeling
because it was easy
sometimes it is harder for me to look at you
because i don’t want you to see that person anymore:
she was destroyed with perspective, terminated with compunction
one day we can make new words that aren’t stupid at all
one day we can erase the question mark after we say
that things are better now