Self-inflicted Wounds

There's an imbalance
of investment
as you so astutely observed
So it's fine
go on
with the unrequited loves
the secret crushes
the one great heartbreak
that have rendered you
an emotional invalid
that you think entitle you
to a lifetime
of excuses
and a freedom
from responsibility
They're your
wheelchair
at Disneyland
You can get on all the rides
without waiting in line
and if you behave ill
you can just point
and say
See?
I've been through hell

I tried to pull you out
to remind you
your legs
work fine
But every time
I got you halfway up
you'd collapse again
Your
psychosomatic bullshit
just runs too deep

If I seem angry
it's not because
I loved you
it's not because
you tricked me
into thinking you were
for real
It's because
we've all had
our tragedies
but here we are
walking and talking
and you
you could have
walked with me
for miles miles miles
but you just sat there
looking sad
and said
I can't

A Foolproof Security System

Sit in a dark room
drawing pictures
of your lost love
singing sad songs
and watching arctic
star-crossed lovers
Don't
open the windows
Don't
let anyone in
They might
make you feel again
and who knows
what would happen then

Deja Vu

It had a smell of doom on it
from the start
something I tried to ignore
perhaps purposely
When we know affairs
will end in sadness
at least we know
what to expect
It's like I saw things
from a time machine
and came back saying
Let's get started!
But along the way I decided
I wanted to change the story
so I tried to save
the dinosaurs
and prevent the wheel
from being invented
I seduced scientists
in the hopes they'd
fail to develop
weapons and vaccines
I did it all
hoping for a world
where you and I
could fall in love

But I failed
because
I can control the present
I can shape the future
I can reinvent the past
but I can't
change
you

Submission

I wrote that poem about you
the nice one
but I didn't let you see it
I knew
it would frighten you
as anything with substance
does
So I hid it
the kind words
the tender memory
the exposed flesh
I put those things in a book
and pressed them down
as hard as I could
But they wouldn't
stay put
They slinked out the sides
and right up to you
They blew my cover
They said
you mattered
So you turned me away
with excuses like
form letter rejections
and now
no matter how many
of these other poems I write
you know the truth
It was written
all over
my face
when you walked out
tonight.