her words make her feel like an imposter
the past makes her feel like a spectator
when he asks her how the family is doing
she wonders if she looks pretty enough
if it will ever be able to cover it all up
he doesn't bother to ask any further
and she gets her answer

you think it's cruel
how quickly I forgot
about you
and when I remember
to think of it
I think so too
if no one stays
it's a lifetime of
Object Impermanence
baked in by nature
but nurtured by others
including you

the shape of it shifts as we hold on to it, like water
it  f
        a
              l
                 l
                    s
                          throu­gh our f i n g e r s
while we blink it's shine from our eyes.

Tonight,
I've been made like poison;
Carefully measured,
Sweet and sour flavored.

You           (stutter
                   like there's something more to say)
And

I                (move
                   like there's somewhere else to go)

when did all this time
become about passing mine
turns out
5 years and 3 months
isn't all that much

When every outfit change
And new man's body
Never made the feelings go away
She did it anyway
And you never understood
Why her dreams were so small
But the big ones never came
And the world ate every daisy chain
A little girl once made