honest, abe
for a friendship that never waned
she taught me about worlds
and how
to enter them.
to leave my safe and comfortable
thought,
and welcome something new.
we worshipped at the altar of the other,
tithing love notes and candid moments from our
camera rolls.
waging war on "i" to better understand "we."
we drank greedily
from that well,
unaware of the drought to come.
our gifted manna expired too soon,
poisoning our best intentions.
co-dependence acting as tether.
as harness.
as muzzle.
sometimes, my eyes can miss your face,
your hand tickling my wrist,
your lips against my own.
sometimes, i wonder where our orchids are,
and if we ever made it out
alone.
About the Creator
kp
I am a non-binary, trans-masc writer. I work to dismantle internalized structures of oppression, such as the gender binary, class, and race. My writing is personal but anecdotally points to a larger political picture of systemic injustice.
Reader insights
Outstanding
Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!
Top insights
Easy to read and follow
Well-structured & engaging content
Expert insights and opinions
Arguments were carefully researched and presented
Heartfelt and relatable
The story invoked strong personal emotions
Comments (9)
Beautiful!
So beautifully written, I can feel so much emotion and am tinged with the sadness of moving forward. Really lovely work!
Amazing work!
Congratulations on your top story
This poem is lovely and achingly haunting. Congratulations on the Top Story - it's well-earned.
Congrats on TS, well deserved.
Wow. This is absolutely stunning. A window into such raw emotion, framed with painfully honest insight, communicated with concise eloquence. Truly a masterpiece, and as well-deserved a Top Story as any! Thanks for sharing this, kp!
This was my favourite line (waging war on "i" to better understand "we.") It is as if you are saying there is no ‘we’ if we are always saying I. In order to fix anything, we have to let go of self. Very touching.
This was just beautiful, kp. So mournful. These lines: we drank greedily/from that well,/ unaware of the drought to come. That contrasting image? Just great. And that layering of words to show how the relationship has become a bind is so clear: tether, harness, muzzle. It says something about control, subservience, restriction. So good.