Be My Friend

Let’s swap stories and scars
tell each other how brave we are
in the end.
Break my heart
wide open.

I’ll plant a garden
of thorn bushes and Venus Flytraps
to collect all the butterflies and lightening bugs
just so you can’t catch them
and pull off their wings.

Promise me things
just so you can break them
like all these dishes I’ve thrown at the wall
so you’ll have a selection of sharp objects
to choose from.
Pick up the biggest piece.
Stab me in the back.
Cut me so deep
I won’t even bleed and I’ll suddenly remember
why God gave us knees.

Tell all my secrets.
Put them on display
in can aerosol and chalk and paint
on billboards and walls on the freeway
allowing me to be a distraction
so this world will have someone to blame
for all the headaches and car crashes.
And when the victims meet me,
they’ll all say it was worth it
just to read and know that they weren’t alone.

Betray my trust.
Give me an excuse to add to my wall
so all the “nice guys” who I’ll never let in
will have a canvas
to spray paint pretty words like
“BITCH”
“CUNT“
“WHORE”

Honey,
I don’t even care anymore
what you do to me.
Scar tissue is thicker
than the flesh it replaced
and I’ll be okay

without you.

© Gina Clingan 2017

From my book, Redford, which can be purchased here