Sometimes betrayal looks like absence. When you leave make sure you look both ways before stepping out the doorway. What’s permanent? Is it just another Monday? I’m so used to the drag. My ribs creak like floorboards giving in from all the pressure. Take off your shoes before you run rampant through my soul. It was never yours to own. I’m just a being with thick skin. I’m a walking misunderstanding. I’m the furthest thing from a cliche. It’s just the sadness taking over, it’ll be gone by the end of the week. Let the dust settle. Let me rot in the pressure. Let that be my drug because I abuse it so well. I’m coming to terms with loss and growth and the discomfort in it all. What it means to be soulful. Weave past betrayal. Expose the slimy truths in every poetic lyric that comes to mind. It all settles after night fall. I’m still finding my footing and it looks like skin draped off strong bones. Brittle nails and scraped knuckles. Words in my mouth that belong to me, and only me. Tired eyes. A glimpse into what makes taking and leaving and giving so important. -AMT ©️