Monday, July 4, 2011

Day 714: common knowledge

i've been told that my body is made for breaking
that these hands cannot hold
for too long
not long enough
women crumble in the creases of my palms
i let them
melt with them
that the night we laid under the stars and i threw poems into the sky
i was your foundation cracking
i was not so innocent
standing by
watching the strong parts of you
being peeled by my vibrato in my chest

maybe they can see the shards of you that were left behind the last time we kissed
the things that weigh me heavy
call me sunken
maybe they can see the scars
of a thousand unanswered curses to the heavens that trace my lips
maybe they can see me standing upright after all of it
think its a disappearing trick
that heartbreak only takes to the girls who wear dresses
no one worries about the stoic shadowed frame
no one warns the man or the one who looks enough like one
she who wears the pants can take the weight
and the blame
she is the dangerous one
with the body for breaking
look at the way her muscles contract
she must be safe
looking out for herself
she looks too much like a tsunami to be anything less than a tornado
keep your distance from the storm
if you want to keep yourself intact
watch
watch as she dances into the sunrise
isnt her transformation beautiful
watch
as she is turning everything you know into chaos
the fear of folklore
see how its stitched into every inch of her
but do not touch

i have been told that my body is for breaking
that women
should keep their hearts away from my sleeves
because i tend to take what i can and leave
that every word i speak
is a ploy to get closer
just to be freed
these are the stories
i've found flung from the galaxies behind your gaze
as if i've earned the weight of these words
regardless here they are
look closely
see how each name you've given me
ive found a place for on this skin
stitched
a reminder of the way you see my body

i can promise you this
i have cried a hundred times over for any women who wrongfully fell into me
i have been broken too
each time i've said goodbye i've given pieces of my chest for them to keep
the poet in me loves often
but deeply
and ever cut is a creator i cannot fill
a story you cannot tell
a home that cannot stand
all pillars falling
watch the way they crumble
watch the way my pieces dance
watch it all fall around her
watch as she still stands
strong looking
stoic, still
see how she survives
walks through the ruble
takes some
and leave a little more of herself
behind

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