Don’t say it like you mean it

a poem

Photo by Alex Turcu on Unsplash

The words dangle from your mouth
like a pearl
hanging from the lips
of an unapologetic oyster

“Thank you”

“Do you need anything?”

You say it like you
never actually meant
to return the favor
like there’s dirt in your teeth

“No”

“I didn’t mean to yell”

You’re still a star exploding
all motion and no sound
except the slammed doors
the broken sheetrock

silence

silence

Under covers, in the night,
I tell myself the shit
I wish
you would have said

“I’m sorry you’re hurting”

“I won’t leave you”

A body suddenly unable
is a body that’s not giving
I am taking from you
the life you probably wanted

“It’s not your fault”

“You’re still worth loving”