refuse to be

I’ll help you find the balm

to soothe your

sunburned skin

from the time you spent

staring at the waves

I’ll help you find the perfect

parka to

cover you

when your standing alone

outside in the rain

I’ll help you find the good advice

you so

desperately need

and you’ll carry it

in a locket on a chain

            But I could never be

            anyone of these

            I refuse to be

            I refuse to be

I’ll help you find the words

that come easy to me

but hard for you

that let others know

exactly what you mean

I’ll help you find the list

you made when

you were ten

that predicted that

you’d be married by nineteen

I’ll help you find the name

you swear to

from your bed

in the morning

and before you go to sleep

            But I could never be

            anyone of these

            I refuse to be

            I refuse to be

   Your assumptions are

   the reason the concrete cracks

   the reason the graphite snaps

   and you’ll spend the rest of your night

   speaking static to your phone

   lying to a dial tone

   because it’s the only one that will hear

   that you’re waiting for flames

   to burn you to the ground

   to bury what you saw

   to leave you ash

   which you will spread upon your face

   and take another name

   and never be the same

I’ll help you find the one

to share

with you

his broken heart

and ignore the pain

                                                 

            But it will have to be        

            anyone but me               

            But it shouldn’t be

            anyone but me