take deep breaths in poetry

consider all the shame
consider all the blame
it’s the same game
don’t do it for the gloss
don’t do it for the boss
they exact the same cost
your blood your life your love
the iron fist or the velvet glove
feel the same when you’re the one
who comes to be pushed and shoved

loss is the name
flossing won’t change
the shape of your soul
the state of your teeth
the thread count of your
designer Egyptian
cotton bed-sheets
won’t redeem what dross
might just rest beneath

they try to make you believe
it’s an end unto itself to achieve
but that’s just how monsters breed
that’s how they suffocate the
good women and men who die because
they work so hard that
they forget to breathe
don’t forget to breathe

Last updated May 19, 2016