This Poem is Nowhere Near Finished

This Poem is Nowhere Near Finished
January 17, 2008

"Turn it down a notch."
You say it as casually
as if you've just asked
for the time of day.

But it sounds to me like you're absolutely
suffocating my voice.
You don't want them to hear
what I have to say.

"Calm down already,"
Translates into
"I want to drag anyone with
the slightest bit of enthusiasm
down to my level.
You're at the top of my list."

I feel you weighing me down,
dragging me below the surface
and towards the gaping abyss
with nothing but your heart of stone.
I learned to swim a long time ago.

"You know I mean well."
Is synonymous with "Don't put me in position
to have to associate with such an
elephant in the room."

You can't stand
that I don't blend well,
that I'm not another
cookie-cutter teen robot.

"You know it's not like that."
I know you're no different
from the movies, the books,
the music, the rumors.

I also know
I'm not as stupid as you
think I am.

"You can trust me."
Yeah, trust you to sneer
and eye me disdainfully
when you think I'm not looking.

I have eyes, too.

"It's not all about you."
Is this really coming from the same person
who blatantly begins rambling
about their own problems
every time I open my mouth
to speak?

Turning the tables
worked much better in your mind,
I'm sure.
But you're not listening to me anyway.

"You're making a mountain out of a molehill."
Don't even get me started on your famous disasters.
No one else seems to have a problem
with a little spice in their life.

And no one is saying a word
at this very moment
because they all know
I'm right.