if my stories don't leave you raw
then let me take off your sweater slow enough to feel the goosebumps
before i kiss your skin away

for my tongue tells stories
far louder than i can scream

i am not a woman. but
my time in the shadows
has taught me
how best to love them.

yes, i have loved others
but my capacity
for loving women
is unmatchable.

years of denial,
turns to regret-
fueled yearning for
a love ‘unattainable’

until now.

what a gift it is
to love and be loved by
a woman.

I'll turn my music up too high
To try and drown you out
I'll grit my teeth and clench my fists
Until I drown you out

You've overstayed your welcome
You've been here far too long
At some point, it got comfortable
Now, you have to go

Do not whisper
Speak your truth out loud
Do not be silenced
By the crowd

You promised we'll be together forever
How come you gone so soon

These words mean nothing
Unless read
By you

My boyfriend has two cardigans
Exactly the same softness, dark grey, cold zip and asymmetric cut
I'm wearing one, my legs curled beneath the other
Frustratingly cold on the sofa when the stagnant bedroom air was near suffocating moments before
My eyes are heavy, tired, blurry with sleep, alert thanks to anxiety
Brain on a loop of words and feelings and fears
Mostly desperation to not disturb his sleep and a break in the summer heat