You're obsessed with being a unit because you never feel whole Soul sullied by the deceit of past flames Betrayed by the boredom and apathy of she with crimson hair Why do you care if I’m alone right now? Why do you care if I’m fraternising with newfound friends of the male gender Bending me till I break down in tears and ask for forgiveness for sins I did not commit And offences with heavier burdens than they are due Forgive me Father, for I have skinned my knees on repeated apologies until my lips are chapped and raw Until I began to see how my God couldn’t possibly love me Until a smile was all it took to intoxicate me into another winner-takes-all verbal brawl Until I learnt to scrawl the ten commandments into my skull Thou shalt not choose your new friends, for you are too naive, consult me Thou shalt not lie with anyone other than me, I’d rather you didn’t sleep Thou shalt not talk to men other than to exchange pleasantries, I’d rather you didn’t breathe Thou shalt not choose career opportunities that could take you away from me Thou shalt not Thou shalt not Thou shalt not I see you broken and bleeding on a cross and you whisper, “how could you do this to me? I died for your sins I died for your sins I let the light in and I died for your sins.” Enough! I will make my own religion One that breathes rose petals among the barbs Armed with the knowledge of what worship should be And you told me I must learn to pray on my knees, But tell me: If you took me to the altar, How much life would I have to sacrifice For this all-consuming, greedy god Of love?
This has already gone up on my YouTube channel, but I wanted to write it out for people who prefer page poetry, and just if anyone was interested in how I write out spoken word! This poem is about controlling and possessive relationships. I was very much inspired by 'The Altar', by Banks, I found it to be a really powerful song. Because I've been neglecting this I will be putting up two poems today- this is the first!