Friend

 FRIEND

Poetry by Alexandria Shaw

 

who is sweet as acid?

who is twice as corrosive?

 

let me introduce you to my oldest friend

 

you'll like how dependable they are

staying up late into the night

offering this constant assurance

 

without them there is no insurance

they cover the costs

of everything I'm a few cents short of

 

unfortunately,

my friend is who leaves a co-pay of brutality

what exists in the hours it makes me hide?

what exists in the high it forces me to ride?

who exists to drain me then demand "aren't you satisfied"

 

who lights the gasoline?

who hides the match they used behind their back?

 

let me introduce you to my oldest friend

 

you'll like their abruptness

their tendency to obstruct

they will keep you from unpleasant truths

 

a sharpness abrupt

to push

then to shush

 

without them there is uncertainty

because they guarantee

safety and security

 

unfortunately,

my friend is who holds on too tight

who leaves not an imprint of nailbeds (but)

who leaves vulgarity and depravity.

who digs until they shred skin.

 

what is paper thin?

what is flimsy, weak, oh too meek?

 

(I suppose that must be me)

 

come here and I will put your hand in theirs

let the urge rush through you

let the screams come to you

let the exhaustion rip through you

 

who brings euphoria with every thought?

who brings urgency and insistent pleas?

 

let me introduce you to my oldest friend

 

you'll like their desperation; their tendency to destruct

your body, mind, and soul

their chaos cloaked as a siren's song to lull

 

a chill arrives as the chaos passes

to settle in your bones

then find nicely a home

 

with them there is isolation

because they provide desolation

sudden and sharp

 

unfortunately,

my friend will never leave

who trades clarity for an unsettling itch?

who stitches the seam to rip it apart again and again?

 

let me introduce you to my oldest friend

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