just throw me in the river already
and see if i float
fill my pockets with rocks and all of the things
you can’t stop yourself from saying and thinking
about a traumatized girl with a dead dad
“witch“, you can say
“witchcraft” you can murmur with all your friends,
don’t think i haven’t seen you and your kind before
people like me, we bear it all, from people like you
we wear your imperfections like red letters poorly sewn on clothing
we do this so you won’t have to
it would be too painful for you to recognize humanity in us
much easier to dehumanize
so we become the easy, nebulous other
no longer part of you as humans having human experiences
humans making human mistakes
humans doing our best to get by, to just get by
no, easier to cast out, return to the fringes
a lifted finger, sharp words, “back to the fringes“
so i can stand there in sensible shoes as the outlander and outlier
pockets and socks full of all the things you’d dare not say to yourself
dare not say about yourself
because, if you said them, thought them, verboten words
perhaps they would be true
is my witchcraft telling you that they are true?
those words you cannot say, the things you cannot admit
is my most devilish spell, the most dangerous of all,
the one of doubt?
fill my pockets and socks and purse with your doubt
because you need someone else to carry it
it must be painful for you
so let me ask
does the lipstick cover up the ugly words
does all that blush and mascara make you see yourself as kind?
projection is easy, looking in the mirror is hard
so, just throw me in the river, already
and i’ll take my chances with that black churn
instead of the shoreline full of yous and yous
laughing ghouls with bitchin’ manicures
the lot of you
hospital vespers 