I am Atlas with the world on my back.
I am the poor soul with the albatross on my neck.
I am pushing this rock up and up and up
this hill like Sisyphus with not
even a hope let alone a promise
of relief.
There’s only so much I
can hurt in my heart before
I decide to set down the weight
of the things holding me back,
and things you’re piling
on top of me to carry.
One day I’ll either lose
my strength or my will,
but either way, that is when
I will lose you, finally.… Read the rest
“We need to talk.”
“What is it?”
“It’s the alien you’re hiding in the attic.”
“You want it gone?”
“No, I just think if you’re going to hide an alien it shouldn’t be in the attic. We have a basement, that’s more dungeon-y.”
“But I want her to feel welcome.”
“Oh, it’s a her now, is it?”
“It’s always been.”
“What are you doing with her up there?”
“Experiments…”
“Are you probing her, Carl? Are you playing doctor with the alien?”
“No, Maude, I’d never! Maude, no, don’t go up there!”
“I’m going!”
“No! Uh, I can explain the lingerie!”… Read the rest
Don’t leave me.
Please don’t leave me,
I’ve begged these words before,
not proud, but not shamed,
I need you here.
Please don’t leave me.
Please think of all the good times,
when we laughed and loved each other
so much we made people sick.
You can’t leave me.
I wouldn’t know how to go on
without you, I can’t even breathe
when you’re not here, I’m choked,
unable to speak or cry.
I won’t let you leave me.
I will beg and guilt and manipulate,
I will promise, I will swear, I will
do anything for you to stay.… Read the rest
Instantly, without warning, nostalgia hit like a bus.
The doors of the atrium, into the commons, I remember the cacophony of shoes and shouts, the smell of culinary class’s pizza, the feeling of excitement for a new day.
This is where we kissed outside the office for the first time.
This is where I accidentally outed my crush to my crush.
This was where I struggled with Algebra.
But this is where I sang.
This is where my voice lifted and lifted me into the rafters, voices like bells and drums perfectly aligned with the world, as they should be.… Read the rest
They smiled at each other as they twirled on the dance floor, spinning around the other couples who had boring lives and would all go home and bicker.
“You know, we’re the happiest two people here,” he said.
“Probably happier than the bride and groom,” she agreed.
“And this is why I’ll never marry.”
“Because you’d rather dance with strangers?”
“Of course,” he scoffed. “I don’t ever want to tie myself down to a single woman. I can’t be monogamous.”
“Oh, really?.”
“Yeah, seriously,” he said.
“Well, I’m getting married someday,” she said, and danced the night away from him.… Read the rest
“But I didn’t!” she begged.
“You did! We watch it all, we know you did.”
“But I didn’t mean to,” she said.
“There are rules for everything, and they are rules for a reason. There is a reason we assign you jobs, assign you housing, assign you recreation time. You don’t need to know those reasons, you just need to abide.”
“I do not abide!”
“Very well. That is admission of guilt for Rule #6, ‘Never Fall in Love’. You’re sentenced to a life alone, because you don’t know how to – “
“I know how to love. That’s all … Read the rest
Do you remember
the nights we got so drunk
just for the hell of it,
just because we were
young and free and could?
Do you remember the time
a opossum got into the house
and we had to use brooms
to catch the bastard and
toss it from the recycling bin
into the front yard?
Do you remember
when we first met
how it felt like we’d
known each other forever,
like we’d already been friends,
maybe in another life?
It doesn’t matter how much
space or time divides us.
A part of you will
always be my home.… Read the rest
It starts with my heart racing.
I can feel it beating faster but I also feel it expanding in my chest, putting a pressure on that spikes my anxiety.
I tense up. I start panicking, it’s flight or flight time, and I’m used to flight. That’s the kinder, more obvious choice, but that’s not something I can do in public, or in front of friends and family.
Only in my mind can I fight off that which raises my hackles and makes me feel like I’ll kill or die to make it stop.
“Close your fucking mouth when you’re chewing!”… Read the rest
We knew from the very first moment that he was the one.
He fit the description perfectly – skin white as porcelain, black hair, black eyes, eyes that were a void, and terrible to behold.
He came quietly, opening and shutting the door so only the faintest whiff of smoke and light from the burning pyre made its way into the sanctuary.
At the altar, he turned and rose his arms, the smell of sulfur stinging our noses.
“Are you all worthy?” his voice boomed.
And suddenly we realized we weren’t, so we ran as fast and far as we … Read the rest
