the dawn of us

our own stories

you like
story books

with love stories like
Ruth and her doting husband
whom she waited long for

you love stories
where they come back
fighting for them

you cry to stories
where the woman

is held by the man

you love
love stories

but sometimes
you forget
that life is not a love story

the boy will
not come back to hold you
and him yelling at you
does not mean
he loves you either

things will not miraculously
get better

this is not Hallmark
these are real world problems

no one is coming to
fix it for you

and you are not in
any state to fix anyone else's issues

this is not one
of your love stories

where you save someone
from a burning house
where you get to rescue someone
from drowning

when you are drowning yourself
when you're burning
in your own house

this is not a love story

they are not going to hold you
after you've made yourself

as moldable as clay
and unmovable like it too

no ones going to save you
how are we meant to save you?

we are not
superheroes

we are not

your savior

this is not a love story

so stop asking for them
to come back

your drunk texts
only brings their fists
not their money

no CEO is coming
to sweep you off of your feet

and then turn our hut
into a castle

this is not your love stories

but this isn't my favorite
type of genre either

i'm not being held
being told i'm going to be okay
i only have two arms
and that was enough comfort too

no ones putting my makeup on
teaching me all the ways
to love myself
i'm only left to teach myself

no ones running
store to store
with me
as i'm decorated like
our meant to be
Christmas tree

where
there are glorious gifts
for all of us

i'm only left to
dress myself

left to learn this all myself

so maybe
i should stop crying too
when i see a mother
holding her child

maybe i should stop
getting a little jealous
when i see someone
go above and beyond

maybe i should

maybe we should

maybe we should
learn that
we fight for our own stories

gain some
strength

as a plank of wood
turns into a boat
for us to float on
after drowning for so long

maybe
we'll hold ourselves
when we need to be held

we'll fill up
the empty spaces
that were abandoned

with seeds
grow some pretty flowers
to care for

and we might
get to wipe our mirrors
clean of dirt

and look at ourselves
as beautiful again

we just have to keep fighting
for ourselves

because that's the only
thing we can do.