People in my life always tell me “no”
Sometimes with their mouths, sometimes with their eyes,
And sometimes I would cry about it, when I was little, but
You have to learn how to master the rejection
Or it will swallow you like an oyster with a squeeze of lemon,
It will swallow you like those whales you have nightmares about—
I’m telling you, they will come up through the green carpet
In the living room and start sucking all the furniture through their teeth—
The second floor is next and that’s where you’re hiding
Wrapped under the covers and praying like you suddenly believe in god—
You have to listen to me:
The letters, they’ll be in the mailbox, in the bathroom, in the bed—
You’ll read like they’re the last words you’ll ever see and get that feeling
Every time, the feeling that you’ve marched into the shallows only to be hit
With a wave taller than your own anticipation
And the water will try to cradle you afterwards, all the shells flipping over
To show their pink underbellies, just for you, but if you know what’s good
For you, you’ll turn right around and run until you reach solid land,
Because the sea is two-faced and you’ll find better and there is
Absolutely no reason to thank anyone for their consideration and one day
You’ll be able to swim up through your bedroom ceiling
And escape all that noise downstairs