connection is like the waves
in which it comes and goes
ebbs and flows
washes towards my frail frame
washes away from my broken limbs.
words don’t seem as rough on your tongue
as they feel on mine
i wonder what potion you drank to
keep them at bay
can i buy it at the local supermarket
in large quantities?
there’s a loop of unfamiliarity
in my brain twenty four seven
and i have waited for them to say, “cut!”
since the day they tied the
shackles to my scratched wrists
and never explained why.
words don’t seem as hostile to
your choice of them.
they nod their heads in contentment.
i looked someone right in the eyes
as the staircase appeared
more and more daunting.
i think he saw the words slither
out of my eyeballs,
reaching out to him to help me speak them
but he just looked right past me
and moved along.
words don’t seem as tarnished
and feigned on his lips.
his fists don’t come up to punch
his missteps and the words
he accidentally mumbled
when he slipped into a tangent by accident.
he just laughs them off
like tiny crystals falling from the cavern roof.
i screamed my insecurities into the wind
hoping they would float away
but they catapulted back
like boomerangs
and my face still has that scar to this day.
words don’t seem as cruel of a master to you
as they are to me.
connection is like mount everest
unreachable and above my sea level
why should i be expected to reach it
before i shatter?

words don’t seem as rough on your tongue
as they feel on mine