promise me
promise me
this day
is something
promise me
the way i look
in here is different
from the way i do
out there
that you can be
a part of me
that no one sees
promise me
the ways you made me
are frames i have the power
to alter or adjust
promise me
you’ll pay me back
for years of labor
& all the shit
your men did to me
for not being man
and promise me a roof
november through
december
talk about
the weather with me
or be okay
with long migrations
promise me
i want all of it
in lonesome pain hysteria
give me
joy in absence
leave me on my path
tell me holding on
to you can only be
a letting go
and promise me
i won’t ever be
like you won’t
hide away in vain
morose neglecting
promise me
i can undo
your grip
without you
disappearing
i want you to say it
promise me
that crushing
won’t feel as bad
as it does now
that moving slow
is fine that you
will be here
for a while
promise me
in the mess of it
that all my things
won’t disappear
just because
i can’t pay rent
promise me
supplication
won’t always be
how i get food
promise me
one day
and that there’ll
be one where
i don’t need you
anymore
and promise me
god damnit
that i won’t die
because i have to wait
for help because some group
of mother fuckers thought
it was a good idea
to make us pay
for all the shit we need
to keep our bodies
from failing us
promise me
promise me
again
ten thousand times
i want your word
& then i want
your head
promise me