Conflicted

Writing a lot of political poems at the moment. At least the current situation offers plenty of creative fodder – depressingly huge amounts of it.

conflicted: you offered purpose when I was lost / taught me to dream as cloud formations / enduring incessant rain, I grew tall in the form of pine & when harsh / words & arid ground gripped at feet I became an olive branch // together we mapped landscapes / unfolded across mountains that shifted so that this bruised body felt at peace (as long as I could call you home) // all of these things tie me to you / which is why I am struggling to say / it is time / to let go / loose my grasp on the threads that tether us / my fingers are blistered from this incessant weaving / I cannot keep reimagining us knitted together when you have become sharp edges & knives // today, I am shredded / all the shabby tendrils of admiration fade with each untruth we hurl at each other / it is not that I do not still love you / more that it is time to love myself more / I retreat across oceans / you stand proud in the sun / your righteous flag-waving burns a hole in my heart