poets on tumblr – Water Witches

tw: wording alluding to abuse/assault, but not explicit. Is this airing dirty laundry? Do I care? Soft honesty and emotional literacy, real feelings, and trust are more important to me.

A church door with theses:

1. Love your mother and father even when your father speaks ill of your mother.

addition: even if he scares you.

addition: forgive him. Give him the knife.

2. Do not sully your body, it is a temple.

minor edit: clean up the blooded walls.

minor edit: didn’t you know temples aren’t for worship? Prayers of wanting are for you to answer.

minor edit: why aren’t you clean?

3. Only love who you have been assigned.

addition: your lovers must fit the standard or they will be sacrificed.

addition: if we don’t acknowledge them then they didn’t exist.

4. Your words are only important if you are regurgitating what you were taught.

update: stop speaking, become small, eat your lips.

update: if we ignore your feelings then they don’t exist.

5. Your mental illness is an illusion, you must never complain.

edit: you are too young

edit: you are too old

edit: we will never try to understand your excuses.

DO NOT DEVIATE

Do not deviate.

6. You are not unconditionally loved.

7. You are only perfect when you don’t breathe.

Error

Positive reinforcement turns to punishment

Error

Where did our little girl go?

8. You belong to the family and answer to us.

9. Stop embarrassing us.

Do not deviate—

Ripping the edict down, I stare at the empty space.

I’m tempted to fill it.

I make myself stare at the wood, at the integrity of the build.

My fear pleads to cover it with something, anything.

I touch the groves, I trace the lines.

I leave it blank.