The first day was
promised to be ours

but responsibility tore us apart.

your tongue tasted of
pabst blue ribbon
and regret

and I drank in
the time we never had

through a long glass neck
that I stole from my father

Our last summer
unbeknownst to us at the time
was riddled with fear of loss
and confidence in abandon

I never wished for you to leave
(I always knew I would)

But the sweet taste
of your tears

is far too much
like corona

and I can't handle
that kind of remembrance

so I lift the covers
off of our sweaty bodies

and drive "home"
with no good byes

If only I could keep it locked outside of me
If only it could cease to exist
If only I didn't have to scratch that
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
itch

If only I could swallow it
Dissolve it in my stomach
If only I could
KNOW for sure if I would or wouldn't

It is like an earwig
Creeping through my brain
I know my actions fuel it
But, oh, it drives me insane

If only I had control
If only I could see
That control is the only thing
That gives it power over me

you lay in my bed
for the first time in weeks
and the first thing
you want to talk about
is the end

not what you ate for breakfast
or how you love
the way the my fingers look
holding onto your chest

not that you had fun
at the concert last night
and you liked the tea they served
in the cafe next door

not about how
your mom used to sing
"you are my sunshine"
to you every night

no none of that
you want to talk about how
in just a few months
everything we've built
will come tumbling down

how in just two seasons
our hearts will be
straining across state lines
to love each other

but i want to talk about
the way your hair
has been sticking out in tufts
ever since you shaved your head

i want to talk about
the way you
chew on your tongue
when you're about to fall asleep

they way your almond shaped eyes
close when you try to remember
what song your favorite
artist opened with

i want to talk about now
and here
and us
being

It felt to wrong to listen to those songs with you last night.
We’ve both changed so much.
But I feel that I’ve shrunk
rather than grown.

When we first met I loved people
and hated myself.
Now those feelings have inverted
and I live in a constant state of bitter narcissism.

I miss the poems I used to write you
The ones that rhymed and were ignorant to pain
Written in neat handwriting
a parallel to how I saw the world.

And I still love you
I just don’t understand
how the same love can still exist
between two different people.

And it breaks my heart
that the boy who
made me avocado and peanut butter sandwiches
and took me on a picnic in his backyard
doesn’t exist anymore.

Just like I’m sure that
it breaks your heart
when you remember the girl
who would ride bikes to the park with you
after school on Tuesday afternoons.

I'm not sure if I'd rather
live in that world of innocent love,
or move our hearts forward
into an unknown territory
filled with the possibility of separation.

its a painful day
when you realize
all your love
has turned to resentment

All this rice in my bed is interfering with my sleep
But I didn't know there was a hole in my head
Please don't ask me about all the snails I keep
Some things are better left unsaid

All the rabbits in the cupboard are pouring out,
Three by two,
As the spiders dance down the shutters
They pixilate the sun's new gloom

So I wipe the sadness off my mattress,
and start anew
Simply free and sweetly tactless,
happiness grew

suspended between two temporary homes
one swallowing me whole
and one,

it's been so long
it must be perfect

except for all the sadness
that has brewed inside
those deep crimson walls
where my bed no longer resides

when i break free of this
intoxicating city
i'll be thrown onto
air mattresses
and unfamiliar couches

but i will be happy
will i be happy?

i can never tell anymore
i don't remember just exactly
what this was all about

the foamy taste of reality hits my tongue
i breathe the fresh air,  however hesitant

we walk through the park
the wind whips our faces

we talk about something
and laugh

and i'm grateful
and i'm sad
and i'm angry
and i

feel
way
too
much

but
- for once -
it's real

life was so much sweeter
when i thought you were gone
when i saw clearly the lines between
you
and
me

fuzzy stars grow between the black night sky
tears form behind my eyes

and i miss you
and i miss the love that grew
and i know it's still there
but i've tended to the weeds,
not the flowers

and i'm paying the price
and so are you

starvation,
and
loss.

bones and skin
hair and teeth
eyes and lips
hands and feet