Alexandria Biamonte

Do not text your ex.

Do not text your crush.

Do not check her twitter.

Do not check his facebook.

Do not cut your hair.

Do not paint your bathroom.

Do not eat that entire bag of chips.

And while we’re at it,

Do not get on the scale.

Do not Google “chest pains.”

Do not bite your nails.

Do not disassemble the vacuum.

Do not sleep all day.

Get out of bed.

Get off your phone.

Do not text them.

Do Not.

DO NOT.

Ducking capitalists

Squeeze the life

From everything I hold

Dear

Duck the system

That oppresses

Relentlessly

And without remorse

Duck anti-maskers

Making it that much

Ducking harder

Not to catch the

Ducking plague

Duck my boss

For making me

Deal with all this ducking bullshit with

A smile

Duck autocorrect

“If you can hide it,
You don’t belong here.”
I feel adrift,
Unseen,
Rejected
For a love I can’t control.
I can’t control my
Love
Any more than you can control
Yours.
But I get it.
I look
“Normal.”
It’s the
Pain and Ostracization
That bind you.
My
Loneliness and Isolation
Don’t count.

I loved you once.
I craved your laugh,
Your love,
Your touch, once.
I saved up for engagement rings.
I thought you were brilliant, once.
I thought you could light up any room.
I thought I was so lucky, once,
To have the honor of doing your
Laundry,
Dishes,
Floors,
Once.
I felt safe, once.
I felt chosen.
I felt seen.
I believed you were everything, once.
I believed you would never hurt me.
I believed we could be forever.
And, once we were done,
I even fell for your lies again.
I thought I was the bad guy.
I thought I owed you more.
I felt sick,
I felt dirty.
I believed that I’d ruined your life.
I believed that I was ugly,
A burden,
A traitor.
Once upon a time
I still loved you.
Once,
But never again.

It’s easy to forget
Sometimes
How I got here.
I look back at the
Broken hearts
I’ve left in my wake and
All of the bridges
That I set aflame on my way to this
Haven. I mourn
Sometimes
Because those bridges supported me,
Hadn’t they?
At some point.
And what a monster I must be
To have hurt so many
And still live in peace.
But then I remember the scars.
Splinters that jabbed my palms,
Uneven boards that tripped me,
And the constant fear of being
Allowed to fall.
Those bridges hadn’t supported me.
I survived them.
And I have to remember that I did not
Burn
Out of malice. I burned them,
So that I would not look back.
I was not granted this sanctuary.
I earned it.

I’m not sure how to be
Right now.
What should I do
With my hands,
These clumsy creators
Who do me no favors tonight?
Where am I
Supposed to look?
Or should I just close my eyes?
I’m sorry
I’m so
Awkward.
I need you
To tell me what to do
With this body
That has never been mine.

You own nothing.
Those aren’t your toys. I bought them.
Even your clothes, your furniture.
I provided them for you, you do not own them.
But if you don’t clean your room, I will
Take a Big Black Garbage Bag and throw away
Every toy, every dress that isn’t on a hanger.
These are my things, not yours.

Your college says I don’t have access to your grades,
Because you’re nineteen, and I don’t pay your tuition.
Don’t tell me it’s none of my business. That’s bullshit.
I am your parent. That makes it my business. I pay
The insurance on your car, and the title is in my name.
You won’t be going on that road trip, unless
You bring me your transcripts, signed by each of your professors.
So long as you live under my roof,
You are not entitled to privacy.

I’m not obligated to help you
In any way.
You decided to leave
And go play house.
That was your decision. You’re on your own now,
Mommy and Daddy don’t have to bail you out.
You wanted your independence.
Sink or swim.
Just don’t expect anything from me.

And why don’t you ever call?

editors note: Our conscientious co-dependence. You need to (we need you) no need to, needs must, need not… – mh clay