Stephanie (Cut the Shit)

I.

My heart drops, hides somewhere between my knees

Like a scared cat,

And I feel like a child playing make-believe -

Losing terribly.

Stephanie says I ought to cut the shit and get my priorities straight.

I always hated Stephanie.

II.

You said you'd leave the window open but now I'm kicking down the door.

When the splinters fall and the dust settles, I'll wait no more than

A split second before tearing myself apart in the foyer.

I need to get away from you and this place and all these machines.

I need to stop getting so lost, myself, in between dreams.

I need to breathe fresh air instead of nicotine and THC.

I really ought to cut the shit.

III.

Life gave me what it did and now I'm left with pitchers and pitchers of sour lemonade -

And only one straw.

It's my mess now, I know, but sometimes

I hear the hills whispering, "Cut your losses and run!"

My response thus far has been to hide,

But I've been stretching my calves and feet and knees and thighs,

And now I feel my battered, broken lungs thirsting for city life.

IV.

It's funny the way things seemed

To work out like frayed strings tying themselves into knots:

We'd be disbanded by the wind if not for the tangles and ties,

The snarled fingers, the locked eyes,

But together we're stronger than alone we'd ever be.

I think it's about time we cut the shit and do something about this.

-a.l. knox