D eny
U nderstate
N egate
G eneralize
E scape
O verthink
N umb

I moved out with quiet hope,
thinking space would bring us peace—
a chance to find my own two feet,
without the weight of being policed.

But distance hasn’t softened hands
that still reach in to shape my days.
You ask where I am, who I’m with,
as if I’ve lost the right to stray.

I keep some things to myself now—
not out of spite, but self-defense.
You’ve made it clear what you would say,
and silence feels like common sense.

You speak in circles when I’m gone,
but never straight when I am near.
I hear the things you’d never say
from others’ mouths, not yours, but clear.

And when I try to call it out,
you shift the blame, deflect the tone—
you’re angry not at what was said,
but how the truth to me was shown.

The one I thought I could confide in
turns out to be just one more line
connecting back to what you want—
not what I need, not what is mine.

So now I walk more carefully,
building space you won’t undo.
If love means anything at all,
it means I don’t belong to you.

I’m learning how to draw a line
between your fear and my own choice.
You raised me to become my own—
so let me stand, let go, give voice.

If you keep pulling every thread,
you’ll find the fabric comes undone.
You’ll lose the chance to know me now—
not your little girl, but the woman I’ve become.

If I could halt the turning sky,
fade into the hush between stars,
I’d slip beneath the weight of thought,
no name, no need, no scars.

Just me, the dark,
and all I’ve left unsaid—
a quiet place
where time forgets to tread.

Used to walk through life
Nose stuck in a book,
only saw the world
in periphery of pages.

An artist of escape,
a dreamer in your youth.
Fleeing reality through stories
in all ages.

Looking up, growing up, into
something of your own.
Writing new worlds,
stuck exploring, dreams grown.
Like you did, now see
beauty in periphery.

An escape artist turned explorer.

I feel stuck.
I am rowing but my boat doesn’t move;
I am trying but it's never enough;
it is two steps back and one to the front;
missing assignments pile above my shoulders
the load is making me bend and fall to the ground
and my face is up against it, looking at everyone else above me,
getting kicked at as they move forwards
without me.
Because I am stuck
and I can't move
or breathe
or barely exist,

How do you expect progress when it is
this hard to live?

You are a brick tied to my neck                                                                    ­                                        
Concrete blocks on my feet                                                                     ­                                          
I have given you my best,                                                            ­                                              
  but this isn't meant to be                                                                      ­                                            
 I held you up until I was tired                                                            ­      
                                                                ­                                            
Wiped tears as they fell down      
                                                                ­                                                       
Your insecurities start to fire                                                                     ­                                    
Smothering me, I am bound                                                            ­                                          
                      ­                                                                 ­                           
You have called me a liar, a cheat                                                                    ­                                                      
  and as soon as I start to react                                                                       ­                                               
 You are either crying on your knees                                                                       ­                                                  
 or rising up for another attack                                                                   ­                                                
You are ******* the life out of me           
                                                                ­                                                        
Not happy unless I am suffering,                                                       ­                                                                 
I just want to break free                                                                      ­                                     
  Take your chains off of me

Stuck, enclosed in a glass jar.
Child-like, naked, incapable;
Round and round in circles, longing to move forward.
Freedom the babe craves, dreaming to be the One who opens the lid.
Observable to the judging onlookers,
Such power was relinquished.