(April 29th,2024)
When people ask me
What it's like without a family
Will I shatter into a million pieces?
Like will my chest erupt
Like the scene from Alien?
Or will I splatter the walls around me
With every shaking breath
As I gag out
That I begged for them
Over and over
Until my vocal cords were raw
That every monument that stood in my way
I was expected to triumph
Past
Without one single intimate encounter
From those labeled
To love me the most
How deeply do you think my body craves
Meaningful conversations at the dinner table
During holidays
With anyone just to bounce my loneliness off of
Would you mind if I saved my breath for the last stanza
Like you just expect the pain to dissolve into these words like bronze swords
Sharpened to kill
Would you
Think anything
of the way I strut around you
While my insides are rotting
And the only thing keeping me together
Is the promise
That the truth sets me free
Or whatever the term is for family
