The seat next to me is empty
Awaiting your gravity
But it only receives my glistening palm
Damp from the rain that was wetting my view
Now clear
I can see the untouched dinner anxious to be ravished
If it wasn't for the table, my arms would rip out my shoulders
So heavy, clashing south
Yet for the floor to break apart
My head seems too unsteady
On my neck
Frantically looking for the heir of that still
empty chair
the candlelight steals the lightness of my eyelashes and lets them
smash down on the harbor of truth
my skin opens all
its pores and makes its way to the fireplace
and burns in all its sin.
My brain expands and lets
Free all that wasn't just felt but thought until
The first time and the last time of this mystery called us has
Fled and I let it,
I let it all grow out and then it has.
My heart has the final
Push
And out roots all there is left, right, and wrong
Your favorite ice cream flavor
the way you kiss
“Remember how you couldn't help but smile before you tasted both?”
And it's done
I don't need
The table or the chair for support I will use my legs from now on walk on my own
Two feet
I will use my hands if I have to
I will race on my heart until
It stops dancing
Finally
I find the pride to lift the sorrow in this body
And move it toward the door
I see a light (stretching through the cracks} when I hear
“I'm sorry I've made you wait.”
And it's dark once again
Awaiting your gravity
But it only receives my glistening palm
Damp from the rain that was wetting my view
Now clear
I can see the untouched dinner anxious to be ravished
If it wasn't for the table, my arms would rip out my shoulders
So heavy, clashing south
Yet for the floor to break apart
My head seems too unsteady
On my neck
Frantically looking for the heir of that still
empty chair
the candlelight steals the lightness of my eyelashes and lets them
smash down on the harbor of truth
my skin opens all
its pores and makes its way to the fireplace
and burns in all its sin.
My brain expands and lets
Free all that wasn't just felt but thought until
The first time and the last time of this mystery called us has
Fled and I let it,
I let it all grow out and then it has.
My heart has the final
Push
And out roots all there is left, right, and wrong
Your favorite ice cream flavor
the way you kiss
“Remember how you couldn't help but smile before you tasted both?”
And it's done
I don't need
The table or the chair for support I will use my legs from now on walk on my own
Two feet
I will use my hands if I have to
I will race on my heart until
It stops dancing
Finally
I find the pride to lift the sorrow in this body
And move it toward the door
I see a light (stretching through the cracks} when I hear
“I'm sorry I've made you wait.”
And it's dark once again
This piece has been published in Teen Ink’s monthly print magazine.





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