Don't say,
"I'm ugly"
You'll insult nature

Don't say,
"I'm a mistake"
You'll insult God

Don't say,
"I'm sad"
You'll insult your parents

Don't say,
"I'm lonely"
You'll insult your friends

In fact,
Don't say anything
You'll insult something

You can think it,
But even if it's true,
**Don't say it

Today I wrote a song about your teeth.
They are crooked and imperfect.
Just like this. Our hands. And these
songbirds are all liars. We haven’t learned.
Flesh memory is overrated. Last night
I felt the linen, and it whispered to me
nothing. Not even the shape of you
reminds me of happiness. What is the use
of these metaphors if they can’t
beautify you anymore. No longer as fierce
as the inferno I allowed you to become.
Drowning in bedclothes, trying to understand how streams of consciousness
are becoming bodies of water. Today
I wrote a song about your teeth. And I
read it aloud to the voiceless, and now
they know what love tastes like.

There are some
Who are fireworks
They light up the sky
Earn lots of "ooh"s and "ah"s

Then there are the flames
The ones who light the fireworks
Their job is important
They allow the fireworks to shine
Some notice them
But not many

And finally there are people like me
The matchsticks
Yes,
Just the wooden bit
We don't get noticed
We don't shine like the others
All we do
Is burn away
So others aren't burnt

We are useful
But not necessary
We don't dazzle
And we are easy to come by

In this world
Of fireworks

I'll probably start my night on here
Reading these words
Right here on hellopoetry
Then around 2 am I'll be too tired
And the words will blur
And make no sense

Next I will replay
Everything I did that day
And criticize it
What did I do wrong?
How many mistakes did I make today?

I may fall asleep
Stay that way maybe an hour
Maximum

Then I'll have a nightmare
Wake up tears streaming down my face
I'll probably sneak out then
Just to get away

Then I'll wait till morning
The images playing again and again
Through my mind

And when morning finally comes
And my mother asks me,
"How did you sleep?"
I'll smile answer,
"I slept fine"

Someone else cutting the ties is painful.
        
                        But ****, cutting them yourself is absolutely excruciating.

"I'm okay"* the biggest most well known lie.

                   That no one seems to notice.

take me to bars we’ll try that ginger beer you told me about
in return I’ll introduce you to the softest corners of my mind
buy me a ticket to that R21 show about that man and the lady
in return I’ll tell you stories of how my life has been and lessons learnt
walk me to your car and we’ll go on late-night drives
in return I’ll be your companion and keeper of secrets
you lean over and fasten my seatbelt
finally found someone to be an older brother figure
then I remember
the last time I said someone was like a brother to me
and how that ended
I’m smiling so hard right now
at crude jokes and glow-in-the-dark bikinis
tonight you dream of you and me
in the club and you in the bikini
me with a moustache
promoting glow-in-the-dark bikinis and hair removing cream
your dream ends here and mine picks it up
so we’re in the club
you in the luminous bikini and me with the moustache
and it’s all fun and games until I lost you in the crowd
I wept and I wept
you see I’m so quick to fall on sadness
and so quick to call your name
then I remembered you were glowing in the dark
so I found my way back to you again
“hold on to my shirt ***** don’t get lost again”
I like you this night
it’s a stay up late with me kind of night
laughing at your silly stories kind of night
cats mating
and no caffeine boost kind of night
when someone takes you away
I will try and laugh it off
the same laugh
with which I respond to you calling me funny
I’m not funny
I’m only funny when you make me funny
hey, what’s she doing here
now we’re doing that cliche thing like in the movies
hey, don’t hold his hand if you’re just friends
please
please don’t leave
when you are taken away
I will try to gently let go of your shirt
you are one foot ahead and I have one foot in the grave
when we head into crowded places
tell me to wear the glow-in-the-dark bikini under my clothes
so you don’t lose me in the dark

No;
You don't understand
You can't understand
You will never understand

I don't hurt
I hurt

I'm not sad
I'm sad

I'm not lonely
I'm lonely

I'm not scared
I'm scared

I'm not tired
I'm tired

I can see where you'd be confused
And no matter what you say
I know:
**You don't understand