graceful drum
Box one said: be fit, be slim,
so I learned to shrink the shape of him,
counted every flaw I wore,
like I was just a score to score.
Box two said: be loved, be enough,
so I kept on giving when it got rough,
held on tighter than I should,
still never heard “you’re understood.”
Box three said: be strong, don’t break,
so I swallowed every move I’d make,
hid the cracks beneath my skin,
and smiled like nothing was within.
Box four said: don’t feel too much,
don’t let the world ever see you crushed,
so I learned to laugh when I was low,
and taught my pain to stay below.
I ticked each box, I did it right,
I played their game, I won their fight,
I shaped myself to fit their sight,
so why do I still feel this fight?
lusty stag