standing at the edge
staring over the sky up above
i wear blue, feel the rain on my skin
and wonder how it'd be like
if i were to just give up.

a metaphorical ruin in all its might
pen in hand, smoke coiling in the pit of stomach
a heart that's too tender for this world
bandaids, torn, wasted, blood soaked
scars, numerous, multiple, scalded, searing, borderline rot

a porcelain doll needs to be perfect
glass button eyes that shine like the moonlight
a smile stitched in thread and silk, perfect at all times
strings ought to be pulled, it ought to move perfect
slightest crack in the jaw of disobedience
and cut all the threads that tie her to existence

the hollowed out torso must be snatched tight
fill the empty with the shoulds
stuff it up with cotton
pillowy soft and smooth
fingers held in a perfect swirl
eyelids dunked in silver, lashes painted and curled

they created her with wishes for a different one
she came to life, unbeknownst to the prays of her creators
assuming she was needed, she gave her all
failed—character, turned a bright velvet rot

they failed her
illusioned into thinking a necessity would rise
where she'd be needed
she worked all her life
trying to prove—worth it, worth what even is that?

porcelain lungs kept her weak enough
walked and ran
had her wings stolen, the branches cut just so she couldn't ever grow them again
venom infiltrated her being, yet she kept going
the same, hiding all the vulnerabilities
sometimes, often, trying to encompass
failing—drifting off the shore

she tried, gripped onto the landing's edge
took a step up
trusted the wrong hand
and so she became one among the fallen

she grew
the happy drug, clumsy clownery aiming to attack the hurt
she'd pull the hands of those were too far
those way too down, bringing them up
foolishly empathetic,
she always had the right words

decade over and here she was
realization dawning upon
what was considered normal
had made her mind go wary

she didn't see the same with the other manufactures
hers—just refused to carry
the burden of existence, of not being friends with the other dolls
they dimmed down her brightness,
thunder came upon—and disguised her as the monster

she pulls at herself
disgusted seeing the reflection of what she has
failed to be the doll she should have
became the one they never wanted to brag

thus came upon the search for some mighty
a protector with a sword and shield
racked brains and held hands
asked for genuine—it turned out to be a mine filled land
another facade, disappointment—
it began to feel like nothing
and then numb was all she had

disqualified out of the race of being put up in the stores
kept on the sidelines, with the ones that lose their chores
they were perfect, on the display
built for reasons, developed for anything but treason

she relapsed, they played,
toyed her around
until she grew tired of the dates
repeating themselves, same things over different days

then came the hour—when she ripped herself apart
held what was the soul they'd given her
did it not turn out to be art?

the soul needs nourishment
requires the nutrients of love, of care, of resemblance
protection from the weather, sunshine during the dark
this one dissembled herself to tether

they wouldn't have known
couldn't ever see
was everything at once
nothing at all for eyes to seek

splintered her ribs in trying to breathe through the ties
lived through the silence, getting used—to the voices
chambers of memory, locked away, dissipated
decay of life, once that was held up proud in devotion

affection turned sour, always a hidden meaning
lullabies held infection, becoming a permanent ghost in order to stop
bled in violet
sometimes a black
often there was nothing to bleed
she ripped at that was left

“is it fair
to bleed
upon the ones
who didn't give you the wounds?”

“is it fair
to talk
to let my darkness
come over you?”

you could cower, or fear, or walk away
you could choose to just not listen
i think it'll be better that way
but for me to do the same
i'd have to talk
and talking is not what i can do
so i sit
late nights, after trips
in my bedroom
i lie, halfway on the bed
staring at the glass panes of my balcony
watching it rain
and it rains so good

just a few minutes ago
i was drenched in the tears of the skies
and i felt
i thought i'd cry with it
feel it, let it go
but i cried after it
as if it left something
or
i'd meant to wash out everything that i felt
under the rain, choosing to get drenched
but i think it washed out all the walls that i'd put up
they were false, not strong or tall enough
and so they tore, broke down
and i—once again—bare to the world
i felt it all and let it seep out

i lie on my bed
converses dripping in mud
down my legs
i aim to say i hate it
but right now
i don't care about the mess that it makes
i just continue to read
and write
whatever hurts
and i try to draw
but my hands are clammy
and they shake
i can't take pictures either
feels uncanny

there's a movie playing
it tells me to speak
tells me to move on with commitments
to love and to repeat
it's the need
i can't do it
something's up with me
there's the mess of wiring in my brain
i think somewhere a long long time ago
it got electrocuted with pain
and now i got shocks
in form of feelings

and when it hurts
i tend to rule it out
because it's not worth it
and because i don't deserve it
and i can't accept it
i can't even seem to take it
i wanna be heard
without having to perform

but i think
i'm turning to every single thing
that i thought wrong
a disappointment?
i hope i'm not

the movie however
a quote—
‘if something's eating at you,
you gotta find a way to use it’

so i shall use it
put forward and even go as far as to misuse it
i shall write
just—don't don't don't react, alright?

it wouldn't matter if i disappeared
like i'll be considered a loser by those who term to hold me dear
what will the society say, they'll think of that
not me, cause i just wasn't worth all that

mattering—is a tough achievement
do i? for anyone really? jot down this event
and i try to tell myself all the time
i don't give a ****
but the thing is i do
and i wanna matter
except i'm easily as replaceable
as the piece of paper

i can't speak up when it matters the most
so i tend to let moments just go
and i can't express to save someone's life
i can't do any ****—to save my own, right?
and i absolutely always mess everything up
like chaotic is fine, but being this way—a ****** chaos?

i might be the issue
i feel like i'm nothing

and it messes me up
cause i just spoil things
there's the immense level of sadness
that i carry
it feels like it resides in my bones, way deep behind my eyes
like every time i try to speak
it just doesn't feel right
like i stare, and observe
and i try to understand them
and love

but reciprocated—finding it acceptable enough
is something i'm yet to achieve
and i know they wouldn't bother
honestly, no one does

just don't understand it
like it isn't like i had a bad breakup
or like i lost a family member
or like i was violated that bad
it doesn't feel fair to feel this big dark messy level of sad when life wasn't even that worse
like everyone has it no?

but they told me i feel too much
"if i'm too much
accept me no?"

i feel like nothing
and sometimes i want to give in
to the night
walk away
not look back
become one with the rain
or the sky
or the wind
and just disappear
forever

"i'm fine, trust me
i'll be fine"
i just don't understand it

why have such a sad soul?
why make things sad, when they are entirely whole
every single time
i speak
it's burdening
and i wouldn't do that to my enemies
i don't think i'm doing okay
like i'll be—obviously
"i'm okay"
during moments and hours
but at the end
there's something really wrong with me
like i'm broken? whatever is wrong with me
can't be dealt with
or made just right enough for people to see
i'm not that bad
i feel like i don't deserve to be here
(i wanna take up all the place in your heart
and consume it, not tear it apart)

am i sickening?

i'm not good enough
"no don't say that"
i'm not though
"please don't say that"
i'm not good for anything
"please—the fresh wound and you're too sensitive"

like i don't deserve compliments or anything for that case
and every time someone says
i'm good or i make them feel good
it feels fake

like what do u aim at
what you talk about
i'm pretty sure i'm messed up
a piece that seems to make things up
i can't make jokes but can be the clown
can't make u laugh, but that's what my life's all about
i don't even know how to have fun
or make it fun
boring, sidepiece
overlooked, freaked out, messed up

nothing helps
nothing really
i'm numb
and i feel too much
it's complicated

"i don't wanna feel this way
i don't wanna be this way
i wanna be normal"

every time i write it down
feels like i'm faking
like it isn't even that bad
they still can't see it
i'm in the wrong body perhaps
this isn't me
wasn't who i was
but i write down everything
i'd want people to know
even then i feel judged
it's my own self and the demon on my shoulder

feels so bare though
at times, i want to be alone
but i despise it
being in someone's company
having to pretend it's normal
being myself
getting eaten away, by the paranormal
watching them live and feeling
like why the sadness exists only within me?
where does it come from
do i perhaps have a curse
have i done something really really bad
a long while ago?

writing was my oxygen
now it's become poison
i let it breathe
but it consumes within me like a lochless monster
and it takes up every bit of my skin
i've got words inked, you just can't see cause they're transparently written

could i be invisible
or hide
somewhere, for a while until it feels feasible
to exist again and to breathe without it having feel like there's a big ******* hole
vacuuming all the good, leaving behind all the bad
there's a tightness in my chest

could i bleed, metaphorically?
or physically even—let it seep and stain even the black
will it stop hurting then? every time it feels good

was asked for something positive
could come up with nothing
what even is there
but then i looked at their faces
and they seemed to wonder
oh such dire thinking
we're all kind of messed up?

ask me how i feel
i'd say great
cause i do
at least until i'm silent, for a second
left alone to look around
need help, not okay

"i'm alright
don't worry
it's just
sometimes
it gets too much to carry"

so i put it down

for periods, as it might be
this bag that i've had since a forever,
so bad, it carries all that i mistook for fortune and humor
i get to play pretend
have gotten quite good at that
so i know when you intend to leave
and that you will, cause you have to just leave

can't be bare cause they wouldn't care
so i go along with their desires
especially when they assume
oh you know me?
you love me and care for me?
you wouldn't bat an eye when you see what levels i've achieved
being ****** up
i feel like i don't deserve any of you or this

but i know when things aren't real!
can't even be delusional
i try to be confident
to pretend
but it all seeps out through somewhere
so many wounds
uncountable, invisible
do i wrap them or sew them shut to prove?

i don't know how to be complete
can't go on with this pit of sad
feel like i tend to infect
and **** me, please before i do
i can't infect you with myself too

"ignore this
i'm alright
trust me
speaking the truth
i cried
i'll be done and back to normal in a day"

i feel jealous of the rain
it collects over time, pours until nothing remains
the sky feels lighter
it shines a bit brighter
i just shower under it
would want to wring myself dry like it

i ought to sleep
but there's violet in my hands

i'm like when 2 am ferociousness met with 5 am alarm
smudged off the **** nuance off the corner of my lips in the dark

back home, drained, phone lighting up except it's not who i missed
make changes, perfect the scars — wipe out the traces that exist
feels like a music video, no cameras anywhere in sight
but i feel them watching, and with every reflex i hope to hide

multiple versions like blind spots behind the walls
were the masks always as potent as planned for them was?

surreal sometimes, watching it slip
i pull the cloak over, can't let it flip
for even a second, for it carries my whole identity
if they truly saw — saw truly for who i am
i don't think they'd even recognize me
faking pills, anti-calamides, the entirety of my existence
look at pictures on my walls, to lose grip over any remaining hesitance

it's in stages
when it happens
undoing my skin, zipping it down and stepping out to breathe
during the nights when it gets as real as it can
i look at my wardrobe, it's filled with masks
who should i be for the day? choosing is a dire task
one that i must achieve, tally all the previous repeats
and it's never the same — midway through, i have to tear myself apart to hold my coop

signs, watch for them
like ants leaving behind a trail to follow
dropping crumbs even tho all they wish to do is swallow
can't carry it all, no matter how much they can borrow
there's moments when it flickers
everything bare just for a second and the world seems to hold
as if waiting, hide it away — telling me — hide yourself whole
this is your chance, run, or settle down
wait, or burn yourself out
extinguishing a flame is impossible when you give the oxygen
give it all to aggravate
in the end, how dare u cry for all the mess it made?
can't kiss the flame, why get close to it in the first place?

there's rainbow fumes slipping through the blacks
the radio playing the album's sixth track
the board up says take right
but there's a figure standing right midway
vision turning bright red, it flashes white
x-rays me through, i can't see the eyes
but they tell me a tale i've long since held
been rotting in the prison for so long
even the wind seems to snap

your eyes speak
like butterflies held in watery imagery
like that one store open 24/7 for the hungry
resembling a payphone hanging off its cord
the voice echoing, "knock knock knock"
you loom in between the dimensions
almost floating, with dragonflies in your palms
stretched out towards me
there's a puddle of rainwater on the ground
a gas burner bright blue and white in the faded background
the screens flash with errors and figures
they walk past, like fishes swimming in an aquarium
the neons slip through the eyes
irises fading into a silvery crash
thousands of people drift by
barely a hundred holding hands
distance separates, time forgives
forgetting is like looking deep into the liminal
knowing there's no ending to this beginning

the streets aren't all too familiar
the buildings carry lives that speak
their windows tell stories — a dozen different endings
the sunshine falls a certain way
creating grey memories across the streets
do shadows overlap each other?
multiple questions — the answers to which lie in the mist

i could scan your eyes
find the me's that exist, see if u see me the way i do
check for pictures in your wallet, in your camera
in your feed, in your head — on your body, on you
but knowing i can't describe it all
describe them for you, i can't seem to stand tall
i'm afraid for you, seeing you walk out
is perhaps the best chance i can take
but a miserly one at that, it's a coward's mistake

should i count them out?
on fingers, i'd say just three
there's more — but facets to multiple sympathies
the major ones though, i call them the protectors

one exists — borderline deceitful
never aiming to hurt, keeping peace closed off
in a loophole, almost
living in boundaries
closed off, hiding in plain sight
having created doors, windows nailed shut
speaking in controversies
it preaches to protect the soul

there's another —
the publicised centre
lives empathetically
provides requests, hearing pleading
walking epiphanies
the bored, tired, sleepy version
meeting eye to eye
smile for smile
never faking, but never loosening the knots either
tie the loose ends just right

the remaining, the original
is a psychological art house
chaotic, musing, no doubt in the dark clouds
writing warfare of the minds
speaking soft, almost gullible
closest, truest, no boundaries like the previous
she lives as she breathes
grief filled in the soul
with a happy-to-go personality
i believe she's the one
except she hides beneath all that is dust
drifting through the mess she's become
it's calming, silent, wrecking havoc amidst
stench of sugar, candied crushes and humor
psychic tutorials, rafting rows of water
she lives in nightmares,
daydreams — almost as if there were none

putting the tracks i liked
out there, on my stories
hoping, wondering,
maybe they'd see me for how i dream
and not for how i've been coping

except a step further
a path up ahead
i realized, they didn't really care for all that i had
prized possessions of mine, these lyrics so simple
they don't deserve bits of me, if the surface excites them sole
if they don't like it whole, not worth the lengths i go

a girl's room is her own museum
or so they said
mine's a beautiful chaos
trust me, a letter to self

and so i stopped
a step further even
ahead i moved
watched, smiled, told them they had all i could
share without breaking, without giving them the key
that could threaten my volatility—my being
and i hoped they'd accept

except fools require everything whole
even if they can't accept it, they need it only
for the pleasure it brings, the joy of knowing
not to like, to love—but to show—
the world always required proving

i have my own cocoon
won't term myself ready to bloom
or a butterfly for that case
but i hide, intending to forget the world
my room, the paradoxical mapping
the stars chart their own course during the nights
up on my ceiling as i turn the lamp and let it burn bright
it's simple, heady space
there's posters and pictures on one wall
the other holds a heart collage of all sorts
lomographic detailing, i've always found myself dreaming
one picture, and i tend to stare deep
whenever this head gets too loud, i sit and stare at all of the meanings

there's a magnitude that hides
read every picture, uncover—but it comes with a price
safe spaces, meant to be kept hidden
posters—the movies that stayed, the artists looking back at me
quotes, written in an unhinged manner
my favourite, i'm yet to choose
but it all kind of gives away what i can't hammer
across my skull and at myself every time i go out
i wish to carry it all, to show them what i'm all about

don't try to rewrite my scars
just don't add any new ones to the already existing
and you could wrap a bandage
i'll keep all the rough edges sealed
and edited for flow

there's carts—more like shelves weakened with a multitude of books
i counted them, turned out to be a lucky 151
now i wonder which i ought to read
to throw caution to the wind and forget all my seams

there's stands, holding tiny little things
a layer of all my bracelets, of all that i intend to wear
one with the skincare, and other little prizes i just keep
there's pens, a vast multitude—I could never have enough
in all colors, i think half of them already dried up
a couple things for journaling stay at the very back, at the very bottom
right above, it holds all the things i could use to paint—to bring my dreams to mortal realm
except the skills lack, i tend to procrastinate
so they stay, gathering dust—unless i air it out—once a day
every day

the last compartment holds a stack of pencils, a glass quill—intended for magic
couple washi tapes—perhaps i'll wrap them around my wrists
and a few paper cutters, having gathered rust from being washed—every time i stuttered

a red ribbon, and a golden one, tied around both my shelves—reminding of who brought them to
vines hang in one corner, right beside the balcony
i'm yet to minecraft the windows, perhaps i'll let them be
there's pages stuck to the walls, and a multitude of sketches
nothing all too special—but there's this one of an eye that speaks
couple stars, the phases of the moons—waning and waxing,
full one too!
a paper leaf string—maple leaf except i made little hearts
hangs over the bathroom door—completely out of place, held in a purple thread
the pages wall is of a comfy book—before the coffee gets cold
the curtains are a shade of violet and silver in the middle, indication of what couldn't have been told
silver almost looks like a grey, a bit shiny, a bit neutral
but then there's another book stand and it holds a few candles
hardcovers at the bottom, they hold too much weight
the paperbacks balance the top however
and wrapping its corners is a string light—a heavy mistake
it goes over my wardrobe
multitude of tiny bulbs if i were to turn it on
phases of the moon again, cut out
and beneath—like scribbles on a notebook—stuck album covers in tiny, varying shades

a sign that says smile—i can't say i do
but it stares back at me, every time i sit on my bed—so i try to
a blue ribbon bow—gifted, i remember just who
stuck to the handle bar, i grip it every time i pull the door through

my desk is a messy messy affair
to put a name to things would be like listing down what i couldn't bear
but here it goes—
my laptop, the one i barely use—it's new
yet to find my way through, i rely on the old one
tho it's been barely working
comfort i guess—is one step away from despair

fake purple tulips, standing in a lilac bottle that i'd painted
a pastel of the same shade except it's an hourglass
30 minutes, i'm yet to check if it lives up to its truth
three scrapbooks, incomplete, the kits emptied halfway through
a candle, a chalkboard, tiny—a slate of all sorts
with one side a black, the other a white
i tend to use it black over white

a clock, stuck on the wrong time, currently giving 11:11
some wisterias kept in a green plastic vase
and a succulent that's as real as it gets
i water it every now and then, the bubbles breathing a sign of life in the room
there's a bunny enchanted almost in a glass sphere—a lamp i don't turn on
a shell, one you'd find at the edge of a sea—except it's a gift too
sets of little trinkets i opened in kinder joy
pen stands holding my sketch pencils that i rarely use
my keyboard is a heavy affair
doesn't really fit in the room with its peachy aesthetic
it seeks repair

a bowl, huge ceramic one i'm yet to find the perfect place for
it carries several stones, i think i'd use them someday to break a skull or two
kidding—
the wall above—black and white, epiphanies printed on pictures
"human being"
"anxious person"
"creative block", "parental advisories"
"life of an artist", a quote between viktor & jayce  and big moon

a wall hanging on the wall, carries a humidifier i don't use
the three figurines of harry, hermione and ron from the wizarding world
the second ron hides just behind the three
a kuromi sits atop a small tin, holding bracelets that specifically need no calling

there's a couple fake plants, sure
books everywhere—on my bed
a set of few that i personally cherish
a dictionary of dreams, a history of time, grimms' tales and a comfort book to carry
it all together

my current read, a lighter for some reason, a diary i write poetry in
and a notebook to remind me why i do it all
add to it- a pen in white, one in blue
a highlighter just to mark the lines i already knew

oh the plushies!
a penguin, a bunny, a koala, a seal
an octo changing moods, a slytherin pillow, and a kuromi
a strawberry hiding a bunny again, and teddy—ages old from when i was a child
three pillows, and two comforters, i think i might get a weighted blanket
the grip feels familiar

there's a tapestry, right above my bed—i tend to forget its existence
since i'm always facing away
the sun and the moon, staring at each other
and a couple random trinkets that define me
don't ask of my drawers, or in between my books
my cupboard, or my wardrobe
i'll mention downturned black butterflies, a cloud with a storm symbol
a party mask, and a phone charm hanging off a circle
a small stool holding japanese authors' best works
a snowflake candle and a few marbles

it's all my own
sacred, hidden
drapery of the lights—different moods, different nights
why i wonder i hide, or spend so much of my time
but it's a galaxy here within
like in my eyes and in my being—whole

my brain resets, works to a rhythm—on nice days
i tend to keep the balcony open and wind flows
everything whispers and takes a breath of relief
the rain pours outside, as i sit and speak
little secrets to my walls
lying on my bed or sitting at my desk
wondering, circling—the reasons to live

the grandest—my baby bunny
wondering, sleeping, napping away or speaking
she stays with me
her own space, her own world a part of my own
we've got an ecosystem in here
the most prized possession

and every time i step
i carry this armor
laced with all the time i spent in this room
gathering strength, putting a piece anew
even if you're not it—
would you like to come see my room?

why'd i let the outsides visit and steal it solely
to murmur of how it all seems obnoxious
it's bits of me, pasted, put together
clumsy, messy, chaotic
i'm quite a few issues when you hear
so close your eyes, listen to my speaker
as i play the playlists i've kept hidden
tonight's the turn for prologue by cloud koh
and if you haven't even tried to read mine
how can i let you read the story directly just for show?

pain’s funny.
laughs a humorless laugh, entering through the doorway
without a knock, without ringing the bell—
a familiar visitor in the hotel of myself.

it has learned my name,
learned where it ought to reside.
easy for it to slip in, even undisguised.

i welcome it, however.
often, i bring it over to a pedestal:
period cramps causing knots in my stomach,
getting waxed after a month,
or even falling over and knocking my head against a cupboard.
familiar. honest. raw. unfiltered.

it sits behind my ribcage, a permanent guest.
some days, in my head.
often, in the form of a heavy numb in my chest.

why is it there—
what form, what holiday brought it this time?
the questions remain unanswered.

sometimes it carries a reason.
other times, it’s just to remind me of old memories—
like applying my favourite perfume.

i could create a list,
but it’s hard to remember
when it’s visiting my central library
of all that i carry.

i can’t remember how it began.
like an old friend,
one night i met it in disguise.

thought i could trust.
i let myself flicker.
it changed my defaults.
and i found some plain, old comfort.

perhaps the wrong kind.
perhaps the wrong thing to do—
chasing after something that hurts
or brings it to visit me the same way it used to.

now, however, it resides,
living right behind my eyes.

sometimes, if i look too hard,
i can almost imagine its presence:
dark.
clouding.
a kind of grey.
ready to hold my hand.

having grown up—
a monster turned old friend,
almost a lover.

i wear it like a second skin.
and on days i can’t even drink,
it slips its hand in my own,
brings me up, pushes me to smile,
whispers, you have to pretend.

and i do.
i do.
and i keep doing so.

support of one kind,
accepting me with my own mind.

some days, it feels like metamorphosis almost—
a change of forms.
on some days, as a memory.
other times, as a memento.
like dowry.

never concluding.
doesn’t even let me stay in delusions.

creates imagery so beautiful,
i’m yet to believe it isn’t just me—
dignified, personified as the midnight hour.

i’m no sun, or the moon.
maybe i could be a star?

beauty is in the eye of the beholder
but what if the one to envision it is blind?
i could approach you with a clean slate
i always do—writing things on a white screen—
except the older the ink, the harder for it to be removed.
visions of you in my head—just not anyone could write over.
and if they try—if i hear things again and again—every time,
it's written over and over and over
until i do not have any clean slate for you, any longer.


actions so cheap, the best of ink fails to meet my expectations.
perhaps there are too many,
but what do i do
when you tend to perform in disguise
every time you see someone come around?

i slip in the lows of being unhinged almost,
the gates of emotional purgatory open to welcome me aboard.
it's tiring—i'm drained.
speaking it in metaphor, trying to paint over.
it brings me to wonder:
just how long do i play pretend?

been wrung dry of trust,
perspective from the third person
who stands in the rubble of ghosted flirtations,
half-friendships built on the foundation of lies.
expected nothing,
but the hope still flows—
straight to my river of misery,
now reeking shades of disappointment.
got lesser and lesser,
and now it's barely there.

this is my final letter,
a sigh of resignation—
hopefully the scientific dissection of this feeling that i entertain:
of the almosts,
weird hope-hangovers,
and all the games
that weren't even mine to begin with.

to name it is difficult—
perhaps it's the hope fatigue,
the burn of being ghosted,
or a nostalgia born from detached attachment.
i mourn for things that weren't real.
hungover from fake bonds,
relying on remnants of connections
that echoed in fallouts.

i asked ai—what do i name this feeling?
in my own words, it replied:
choose your favourite color and give it to this burnout.

grey—
in the middle of extremes,
where hope lay on one end,
ache at the other.
the rope stretched thin.
my being glitches—
a breath, every failed text,
trying to match up the vibe.
i feel like i've fallen in between the lines.
i see it, hiding in plain sight,
watching people perform me wrong.
lowest of expectations, ridden lower and low.

fake affection tastes like sour frosting
on a cake that's been left uncovered in the fridge
for way too long.
the outside’s rough, dry—
nevertheless, i take a bite.

there's eerie silence
as i sit at the edge of the windowsill.
numbness lingers.
i pull at the strings.
raw evenings,
i tend to wonder—
write notes, only to surrender.

kindness—they tally manipulation.
flirting, i take as a weapon.
come headfirst—i'm no longer wary.
having given up,
you just add to my list
of why i shouldn't let people carry
me,
or the weight of what i've become.

i don't despise it.
rather, it's a maturity
i ought to carry to a life—
unless i find someone to share this feeling with.

do you feel,
having already expected close to none,
but being handed even lesser—
gift-wrapped in guilt almost—
just please accept it?
expect it the least,
find it dealt in a heist.

even apathy tends to feel violated
when you drag it back to the beginning.
there ought to be a specific hell
for those who tend to exist
and make promises
like they aren't bartering their own.
calling me honest—
with a mouth that lies.
an ache with no name,
a feeling with no gain.

i been known,
been breathing in the sighs—feelings forlorn.
lover girl by laufey plays on my phone,
disappointment of having lost myself
to beliefs that held me strong.

believe,
trust,
exist,
let go.

four friends turned strangers
sitting on the edges of an x.
the centre, i settle upon,
asking what do i name this feeling
that's been born?

how hard is it
to not wear a mask
and change it every time you bask
in a different one’s setting?
a rare emotional creature,
i tend to sit in the foreign setting.

i do not recognize myself.
holding onto things that weren't even present—
this reads like a séance.
funerals held for feelings that needed strengthening,
got tampered with instead,
burnt down to the very bit.

excuse me as i scream in silence.
look at you, with eyes speaking imagery.
build a connection,
hold the other edge of the phone connected to this wire—
one that wouldn't carry any signals.
but i hope you'll still hear
the music that plays this side—
all the unspoken
that i let bleed through my hide.

masks are unrequired.

i've got an inkling—
you do not understand.
and i do not put it in words.
this, like a myth—uncanny and impossible to uncover.

unless i've got a name to put to this emotion,
i shall drain myself of all words, irrespective—
if it's meant with relating,
or with mirth.

you can only add to my reasons
of why it isn't ever worth.

millions of red threads
and yet the one that holds significance
tied around the little finger,
hooking me to you.
the red string theory—
fragile, probably a lie,
but doesn't it make you cherry?
 
glitter on my hands,
i'm no angel but i leave behind what i couldn't mend.
it sparkles, everywhere i hold you close—
skin placid, hissing almost under touch.
throw glances, lips curving to a smile,
you're enchanting, flickering alive.
 
what can i help with?
give away all i breathe,
i'll hand over all my pills,
stop injecting myself with words i can't speak,
pause inflicting pain upon scars that you won't ever seek.
 
dim lightning, darkened horizons,
drugged-up eyes, seeing through the glimmer.
my vision fades every time the needle pierces—
through my skin, i feel it pulsing,
leaving behind the sensation that slowly dulls away everything.
heaven and back, while rotting on the same couch,
i breathe in the smoke, ashes turning grey.
my hair sticks to my skin as i sweat through the blaze.
 
rehab never taught me how to exist.
being so undone, the remedy is sick.
prescriptions changing,
seldom any constants.
syringes filled with all that remains far from legal—
they call them drugs, is love any far behind in evil?
 
the kind of touch that leaves traces once it's gone,
hallucinations scripting out desires and thoughts and scenes that couldn't become.
withdrawal makes me crawl, no cure that could stop this spiral.
once the highs have been lived through,
the crash arrives as an aching breakthrough.
 
i cry in gemstones that rest in the corners of my eyes—
sitting, waiting, you can't detach them.
they strain towards permanence every time i sigh.
 
the back of the cab is filled with the blazing neons,
and it drifts through the street laced in LEDs and glistening homes.
i've got a pink heart vision,
the glasses leaving me to see stars on every face that carries
even the slightest seed of doubt—
anxiety etched to the masses,
they still envision.
 
i despise you've brought me back to this feeling—
the one i ran from, escaped, returned only to attach.
got me doing, fawning, sniffing white powder turning black.
 
my phone screen blips, lightning up,
the name repeating as i listen to the night come alive.
i'm too high, way too high to reply.
i tell you i was sleeping,
forgive me for my disguise.
 
cheap—cheap cheap.
i overdosed the wrong kind.
 
i look down at the bill,
see the name that wasn't meant to stay in the will.
the wrong wrong wrong addiction.
you failed me, cursed me, broke me—
it's my turn to accept this affliction.
 
shouldn't have—should have.
don't regret—all i do is regret.
ended, stopped, relapsed—now it's all red.
the stick in white in between my fingers,
lit at the end, vapour rising to the flimsy night air.
i sit on the sidewalk, watch the vehicles pass—
too dazed to care.

i'll stop existing, leaving no traces.
this shirt doing much less to stop the cold as it caresses my skin,
blankets the wounds, takes away all that i fear.
i shall move, get up, throw away the burnt-out ****,
walk away, the bottoms of my converses heading down the road to nowhere.
 
you won't even bother to map out the path.
i just know,
the cruelty and the false lies have long since encompassed you whole.
see what i am,
but you are way beyond my control.