ego

like stuffing tissue paper posies 

into the extent of a bloodied mouth. 

like shoving what’s left of my dignity into a brown bag beer bottle. 

like showing my sense of self sunlight in a police lineup 

and anticipating observable signs of recognition. 

like sacrificing my youth to maturation in false promise of betterment. 

like sensitizing my skin to the caprice of a claw that proceeds as nightfall nears. 

like succumbing to figment and possessing the temperament 

to discern it from certainty.

i sat with tongue in cheek until i swallowed it whole. 

you force fed a god complex past a clasped jaw. 

cheated me out of my adolescence . 

i rehearsed your name for hours on end. 

my baby soft skin cracking under the pressure from your ardent hubris. 

ego.