ivyboots

Facebook says ‘what’s on your mind?’ As though there’s some way to condense everything Into a handful of characters: Life and death and life and pain Somehow distilled into words That never tell the whole story; Technical terms and notations Try to remove all feeling, Because it’s less exhausting that way. Face after face after face, Need after need after need, “I want-” “What do I do-” “I feel terrible-” “Fix this-” And only sometimes “Thanks for listening-” “Thanks for trying-” Emotions and nerves stretched as thin as tissue Until the

The lines are drawn repeatedly On mind, on bone, on soul, They sink below the skin and fade And yet, they never go. The lines of happiness and guilt, Of sorrow aged through time, They layer softly, deep within Becoming scars that bind. Although I may forget a name, I may forget a face, I never will forget the pain Of stories that I face. I carry all the sorrow, And I carry all the tears, I cannot leave these weights behind Despite the passing years. But lest I come to hate the thing To which I've sold my soul, I also see the stories That help to keep me whole. I hear the times that people laughed, I hear of families, I h