I.

I could tell you that

the indifference didn’t hurt.

I could tell you that

rejection is something I can live with.

Screaming into a vacuum is

my idea of a good time.

Banging my head against the wall

is really quite Zen.

Pouring my heart out just to watch

you stomp through the puddles,

just doesn’t get any better than that.

II.

Opening wide,

fending off the tide

of a pain sickeningly sublime

Please,

could we just get along this time?

Surrounded in a room

By those with whom

we share genetics,

But not much else.

As we gather

avoiding the blather

tension thick as the lather

of the French-milled soap

we gave each other for Christmas.

This emotional masochist

just can’t get the gist

of this broken-family dynamic.

© Sandra Perry 2006