poems for past selves

i wanted to give you truth and poetry

we were going to mold beauty from the vain

like Rome

subvert the powers

by giving art

to the masses

title it Obedience

oil on canvas

but that's not oil

it's blood

we know what they've forgotten

those with comfort have everything to lose

you call yourself an agitator?

you cling to harmony

bored

afraid to admit it

the lies come easy and often

i was a lie

i came easy and often

for a time

i'm back to being me again

it's lighter without you

inside skin that is mine

lonely

you were soft in me

seek the truth in art

cower from reality

i could never submit myself

to a god

who lives the li(f)e (s)he mocks

a false prophet to the values that def(y)ine you

shapeless now

you are melting

i weep for you

slip through cracks

in your convictions

out of my life

down the drain

followed closely

by the unwept tears

of the lovers

that you lie to