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91 · Nov 2019
7/16/15
Rachel Ward Nov 2019
Gabriel

Take me away
Drag my wistful body with you
To the land i frequent but have never existed within
The heartland
That you must seek to find
When my arms are heavy and my head propped up on this
Adrenaline
Pillow
And the threat of reality looms omnipresent at the door
Probably the most explosive
Shame
In the history of a good
Girl
Names and emotional
Subtitles loom in a corner booth
Soundtracks meet me like an old friend
Phrases
Stick to me
Double sided tape
They take a little of me with them
Too
If i lay here
It will leave
If i lay here
it will leave
If i lay here
Covert identities
Stashed in a drawer
Hidden under a dresser
A clothesbin
A pocket
Stashed in me
Trusted to no one
I know words in other languages
I shouldnt know
Mesmerized by the curiosity of
A chance
A Chance
I wish i knew how to quit you
To undo the rope
Im done rappelling
Off this mountain
That
Breaks
My
Back
I am fluff
Lint on a rainbow shirt
A frequent washer
Never clean
I am the guilt at the seam
Because there is no gold
Foolish girl
The love of angels keeps me alive
But what would
Gabriel say
To that?
A lil baby gay who didn’t know they were queer as hell yet (and agnostic af)
70 · Nov 2019
4/9/19
Rachel Ward Nov 2019
What do you do when you realize you’ve never actually been in love before?
What do you do when it’s too early to say,
And your mind keeps lying, keeps trying to tell you he’s slipping away?
SP But then again, what if he really is?
What do you do when you’re drowning in doubt?
But the next second in his arms it all fades away, seems okay, you’re okay....
What do you do when you can’t let it out... for fear of coming off nuts, coming off crazy, you’re hazy but one thing shines through -
You don’t think you can live if you don’t know for sure, he’s in love with you.

And that sounds so sappy and a little bit insane,
and you sit around and that’s the only thing that’s inside your brain,
And that’s not a way to live,
That’s a way to give yourself a migraine.
That’s a way to get so anxious you’re a little bit in pain,
And what a way to feel about someone, someone who has absolutely no idea the mess in your head, in your heart, in your soul, in your bones.

But most of the time makes you feel like nothing you’ve ever known....
SP Which actually, kind of makes it worse. Because then Jesus Christ we’re off to the races,
Let’s see how far this daydream will go,
In your mind there’s a million places,
Memories you have yet to know,
And Dear God you could just marry him,
And even though you’re terrified of children,
For the first time in your life you want them,
And a house somewhere and dogs and cats and then....
You sound insane.

Fantastic, how are you possibly in the deepest pit of self doubt you’ve ever built and simultaneously building a future with this man,
What a great plan.

So, here’s what you do. First, go to therapy. That’s it.
The second thing you learn is to let go a little, it’s life, and it will happen whether you think you’ve planned it or not.
Assess your situation, but don’t obsess, and realize that this is what you’ve got:
An amazing man who knows when you’re hurting,
An incredible man from whom you’ve been learning,
A frustrating man, but that’s the thing,
You said it yourself.
You’ve never actually been in love before.
So how are you to know how to do this?

Of course you’re afraid.
Of course you’re questioning everything.
Of course you don’t know, it’s a game you’ve not played,
Of course. You’ve gotta learn everything.

So let him teach you. Let his calmness reassure you, let the touch of his hand and the ring in his laugh tell you everything’s fine and even if it’s not,
It will be.
Tell him your fears, and be surprised when he holds you tighter.
Be surprised when he doesn’t shy away.
Be surprised when just his words make you feel 3 times lighter,
Be surprised when you realize everything’s okay.

Stay as long as you need, he’ll still miss you when you’ve left,
Accidentally be a nuisance and learn he doesn’t mind the fuss.
Step by step you’ll learn to live as someone else’s, but still as yourself
You’ll get better, you’ve gotta trust.

And in the meantime, enjoy this man.
Early mornings, late nights,
To hell with a plan,
All you know is he’s your light.
68 · Nov 2019
11/9/19
Rachel Ward Nov 2019
I feel gutted.
I’ve never been able to put a name to it before but that’s what it is,
It’s a passive sensation, not the act of being gutted,
But the aftermath.
Hollowness below my rib cage and above my hip bones.
Phantom torso pains, twisted slowly like a wash rag,
Or wasting like hunger.
(As usual)
Like the cold seizes that leave you sore the next day.
Like I can feel my bellybutton touch my spine, but if I tried to touch it,
My hand would pass right through.
I feel like I’m split into two, but there’s no trauma.
Just the absence.
And in the wake, in the loss of my diaphragm and abdomen,
My heart sags.
Pulling at the skin of my chest, at the fascia of my lungs
And ribs
Falling into the hollowness until it’s
Exposed
Until it’s twisting too
Maybe it’s grotesque but that’s what it feels like
Walking
Standing
Driving
Laying down
Sitting
Just trying to exist
Deep breaths help sometimes, they flow big and expansive into the hollowness and just for a moment, fill it again
But then, the problem isn’t physical.
My waist is, in fact, intact.
It’s just that you can’t feel pain in the place that’s the problem, so it goes to the most
Vital
Place it can find.
And it settles there, inky black and expansive, until it’s taken over
And there’s nothing left
But empty space.
I wonder if I will ever feel full again.

— The End —