seams and stitching ♡ published

MY KIND OF STORY

scene one:
this is your kind of story. no one is the good guy-
no one is the bad guy-
the blame shifts from monster to monster
and in this place everyone bares their teeth.
you are standing behind a deceitful window
and someone is asking you
to point out who did it. you lift your finger-
him. and him, and him, and her. her, too.
me. you.

you're tired of the turning tables. someone must be
pressing random buttons on your life's controller,
monster turns to angel
turns to devil turns to deity
turns to culprit turns to you. you, you're every
in between, every gap, every void,
and you're tired.

let's play a game. let's say
that there's a tower, and a princess,
and a dragon and a knight.
you know what happens. you know
how this goes.
the beautiful blond princess tosses down
her impossibly long braid
and the knight climbs up.
they fall in love. and the dragon wakes.

scene two:
something has just exploded.
two boys run for their lives. one of them is bleeding-
one of them is always bleeding.
he doubles over in the back seat
of the car and watches
the handgun slide around in the leather
passenger side. there's a wad of cash in the dash board,
a switchblade, a bottle of liquor.
what do they do now?

scene three:
what do they do now?
there's a wad of cash in the dash board,
a switchblade, a bottle of liquor.
he doubles over in the back seat
of the car and watches
the handgun slide around in the leather
passenger side. one of them is bleeding-
one of them is always bleeding.
two boys run for their lives.
something has just exploded.

do you see how the tables have turned?
who was at fault in the beginning?
who was at fault in the end?
now watch. we have one more.

they fall in love, and the dragon wakes.
you think you know what
happens after this. but you don't.
because the princess seduced the knight with
a love potion, and the knight is a coward,
and when the dragon wakes,
the princess is tossed out the window by
the knight, the tower is engulfed in flames,
the knight burns to death,
and the princess is swallowed whole.

you see, the princess was manipulative,
the knight was cowardly,
and the dragon was just a dragon.
who is the monster?

this is my kind of story.
the blame shifts and shifts from
monster to monster,
and everyone bares their teeth.
everyone is ugly-
everyone is the bad guy-
your pointed finger always ends up
pointing back at you.