a pledge of allegiance full of lies brainwashes us with promises that will go unfulfilled the rest of our lives the pursuit of happiness doesn’t exist in this country that treats its marginalized communities as subhuman we can say God Bless America until we’re blue in the face it still doesn’t change a damn thing about a country that’s fucks over its most vulnerable communities
I’m starting to radically accept someone like me will always be judged differently from my peers it doesn’t matter how many degrees I have- how much I code switch to fit in- it will never be enough to be truly accepted so I’ll smile and nod while they complain about ivory tower problems while I roll my eyes inside my mind- man, I really wish I had your problems Susan but I got to go to my second job now
the river of my love for you dried and at first I cried but then it felt like freedom, it felt like happiness to no longer obsess over someone who treated me like shit to feel nothing for someone who caused me a world of pain over and over again Does this mean I finally learned my worth?
I give you a yard, and you give me an inch- it’s a game of back and forth nonsense one where I respect your unspoken boundaries and need for space until one day the push back from you pulled back into a dark place I haven’t been in a while a place where my confidence breaks, a place where I start to question my worth a place when my sense of self breaks once again and I know right there, and then, it’s better to give up whatever this was I’ve outgrown men who send me mixed signals
were we the bonnie and clyde of toxic relationships ? you setting up and detonating love bombs in my heart and making me explode in rage every time you left and me encouraging you with every reunion because I loved you, because I didn’t want to be alone so I went along with your emotional crimes every time Until one day, I learned my worth and blocked your energy from my universe
every time I drive somewhere new I’m beyond terrified doubts about driving skills cloud me and I want to break down and panic in the middle of traffic but I push through my fears, my insecurities, and keep driving I can’t be weighed down by who I used to be A woman reliant on the transportation of others A woman fearful of living a full life that is my old story and it’s not that I hate that version of myself I just refused to hold myself hostage by my past which tries to hold me back from being the independent woman I was always meant to be
I was in distress the other night but I wasn’t the damsel who needed to be saved I was a friend who needed a friend and maybe I was expecting too much but you could have done better than some two word awkward text as I was breaking down in the diner
In the isolation of my solitude I try to find grace and compassion that’s evading me I try to ground myself in my writing and music because I don’t want to talk about it and I’d rather let out my tears in the comfort of my bedroom or on my notebooks because last time I let someone in on my crazy, they left they always leave me
I sought solace in friends last night and everyone was busy or asleep so I cried hysterically in the middle of the street, and then in the diner over my fries, and finally in my uber ride Strangers kept asking me if I was okay one even offered me a ride even in my worst moments of crises, I always find a way to survive even when I’m in the thick fog of a mental breakdown I know now how to take care of myself and keep myself safe maybe that was the lesson the universe sent last night even in my most hopeless of times I will always find a way to survive and eventually be okay
A blanket of anger and sadness envelops me as you dispose of me once again I hope this time I learn for good that you only carry destruction and devastation within you that you will never love or care for me that you’re a self absorbed piece of shit A blanket of anger and sadness envelops me And I hate you but I hate myself even more for wasting my time and love on someone who never deserved it for trying to see love and affection that was never there for falling in love with a charismatic coward
maybe it was the outfit that made my uber driver nervous
I couldn’t tell if you were nervous or just an asshole trying to impress me with your knowledge of shakespeare that came off as mansplaning which was so cringe and annoying since I told you I have a degree in English and I had taken two Shakespeare classes maybe you didn’t take me seriously because of how short my dress was or my thigh-high boots caught you off guard is it some sort of abomination for me to be smart and smoking hot that men treat me like I’m a bimbo they need to save or mansplain shit to maybe I should start using it to my advantage play the role of “pretty woman” observe how much men underestimate me and write poetry about it and make it blog content a year later
my heart is full of what ifs? What if it works out? What if I’m not as dumb as I think I am? What If I stop listening to the voices in my head that taunt me-telling me I’m not good enough? What if I’m brave enough today and chase my dreams despite my haters and my inner critic?
2014 me in the blue hoodie-2023 me in the red dress,
The ME from June of 2014 sends me a message asking, where are you? I tell her, life didn’t go as planned-you’re divorced and looking for a place for your ex but your kids are thriving-your oldest son has his driver’s license and is on his last semester of college Your middle son will graduate from high school this year- and your baby is now taller than you and becoming his own person You’re working 2 jobs and you’re a citizen now and you’ve been to therapy to learn healthier coping mechanisms- you even drive now-you’re independent as fuck and live life on your own terms you’ve even been to Peru twice- You’re learning to follow your intuition and how use discernment in your choices in how you live your life- you’ve discovered your values underneath everything society brainwashed into you and at the end of the day all you want be is a good mom and a good person that’s the extent of your life’s purpose- now that we know who we are our next step is to plan the future we want- we’ll keep on thriving girl-you were the go getter and determined woman in me Even among one of my greatest depressions You still got up and followed your passions- And you laid the foundation-we’ll be okay-I promise I’ll make you proud of me- Love patty
and the roses never wilted, they just transformed into flowers never seen before for a while it looked like they were dying as they slowly turned gray and then black but then they bloomed into something different, a unique kind of beautiful