everything for you tonight; i promise.
i didn't come here to ruffle your feathers
or talk over your words. i know,
you hate me unyielding and impatient, overstirring
my coffee and going on and on about things like symmetry
and abandoned houses, swimming holes and condensation.
you say, "juvenile" like a swear and i
fold my napkin over my lap and watch you blink in key signatures.

at the end of the day i only wanted you to understand me,
not feel compelled to pick up my pieces and carry me home.
i didn't want a father in you, i know you'd expect me to
have some sort of complex you could analyze and throw at me,
but the truth is i'm much more stable than you realize.
i only ever wanted you to feel a little bad about the way things were,
apologize maybe, for becoming what you said you'd never be,
and not dying first.

in all honesty, i never thought i'd have the balls to leave
but now that the room's empty it appears that life's caught up with me:
i am not a child anymore. so you shouldn't have to take care of me.

well, turns out that you don't really get it,
do you? and i'm still not sure which one of us
deserves the worst but i think we both owe each other explanations.
anyway, thanks for not trying to create some symbol out of me,
and for letting me clean out your liquor cabinet.
for picking up the broken pieces of all the plates i threw at you
and for trying to figure out what i meant all those times,
even though you never did.

06/15/2008

Posted on 06/16/2008
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