11/30

Here's today's poem! 

these poems—I write them for me, 
to get the toxins out,
to stay well,
but it seems they aren’t always just mine,
each syllable a sacrifice,
every line break an offering.
i hemorrhage and a room full of strangers
go home with stained teeth,
i spill all over the stage and someone
i don’t know cries while they say
'i understand',
'this happened to me too',
'thank you', 
like a surrogate i hold the secrets, 
the memories, all the the things they
cannot carry on their own,
i keep them safe,
do all the pushing, 
send these things home tucked
into someone else’s chest,
when i want to be selfish, 
to say you cannot take this one, 
it’s too personal, 
that one hurt too much,
another tear falls, 
another act of gratitude is gifted to me, 
and i am reminded
that it was never meant to belong only inside my heart, 
it is made for whoever needs it most,
this is the poem that i wrote with you in mind
a preface for every word to come
it is all yours to take.