the pause-and-go of a fast-food joint

your words synthetic sweet

infused with corn syrup lies;

there is nothing natural about you

your freshly thawed words

dished out in mass supply.

I’m lovin’ you, you say

to every new bae, I learn too late.

If I had paid more attention

I would’ve tasted your artificial ways.

Even as greener pastures beckon

I want to stay for just one more taste;

a glutton for your temporary love,

this naive sin nourishes me today.

You reach for me in your sadness and

I forget I cannot lift you out of it

I forget you want to pull me down

just for the company.

Intimacy makes friendships stronger,

you say.

The man karaokeing on stage gets louder

Good times never seem so good, he drones on

I look around, wondering if someone would

tell the man he’s singing too loud

the man must know, he’s in the wrong.

We should go to my place,

you say.

I feel the salt at the back of my throat

threatening to pour out,

then pity pricks my eyes as I realize

you are missing the point of it all, this life

the bliss in calling one person your own.

I imagined

a hundred things

I wanted to do with you.

You imagined

a hundred things

you wanted to do to me.

Sorry I placed so much

value on your words.

You see,

I thought you meant them.

Time with you now feels

like a trip to Taco Bell;

great in the moment

regretful the next day.

I missed you, you’d say

even though we’d texted

all day.

Back when you remembered

the things I told you

and asked questions,

quickly learning

about me.

When you have me

you cannot be bothered

to look my way.

Do you remember

when we fell in love?

I do.

The memories are

the only thing

that keep me tethered

as we drift apart.

But I am learning,

slowly learning,

those are not enough.

I untie their knots around me,

slowly learning

the art of moving on.

Madness is no notifications

and a Read.

Humans should come with

macronutrients & warning labels

Yours:

35% goodness

65% evil

9 grams of kindness

32 grams of bullshit

Beware: dangerous to consume,

lethal to love.

Well dear, I suppose

you don’t really know me

for all you do

is talk about you.

Slowly,

you seem to be

like everyone else in the city.

Looking over my shoulder

to see who else is in the room.

Wanting to be

someplace more exciting,

with someone more exciting.

I begin to envy

the bald eagles,

the alligators

whose monogamy

comes without thought.

I am a master at self-deception;

I believe in your words of love

even as I stare at your eyes of lust.

I am not ready for a commitment,

you say.

I am sorry.

The silence is dense

with condensation from your words

clinging to our faces,

a rotten-sweet stench envelops us.