you describe 

the way your skin itches across your throat

when you feel yourself breaking down 

masked with a hard candy shine 

but your fingers 

begin to bite 

when you realize 

you may not be mentally able 

to fully articulate 

when there’s a dictionary lodged in your lungs 

come clean 

they tell you 

frame your own narrative but only i️f it is one where once the spine softens 

you can remind the world that you are one 

with your body 

you don’t 

look at the glass and ask it to look back 

ever longing for something more in your life 

despite the fact that you’ve never been able to articulate it 

destroy your entire identity for the sake of the greater good 

maybe one day it’ll pay off 

or maybe one day

it’ll eat you whole 

swallow your intuition and leave you to the sharks 

pray, to a god you’ve never seen 

that the universe will shatter 

for you would rather destroy the hearts of all the oceans you live in 

than fall to the rocks 

the ones that spell out 

FAILURE 

etched in the crevices of those who came before you 

the ones you’ve only heard of in passing 

SHAME they would whisper 

stop falling and start catching 

maybe then, you’ll come undone