"Survival poem #17

because this is what you do. get up.
blame the liquor for the heaviness. call in late
to work. go to the couch because the bed
is too empty. watch people scream about love
on Jerry Springer. count the ways
it could be worse. it could be last week
when the missing got so big
you wrote him a letter
and sent it. it could be yesterday, no work
to go to, whole day looming.
it could be last month
or the month before, when you still
thought maybe. still carried plans
around with you like talismans.
you could have kissed him last night.
could have gone home with him, given in,
cried after, softly, face to the wall, his heavy arm
around you, hand on your stomach, rubbing.
shower. remember your body. water
hotter than you can stand. sit
on the shower floor. the word
devastated ringing the tub. buildings
collapsed into themselves. ribs
caving toward the spine. recite
the strongest poem you know. a spell
against the lonely that gets you
in crowds and on three hours’ sleep.
wonder where the gods are now.
get up. because death is not
an alternative. because this is what you do.
air like soup, move. door, hallway, room.
pants, socks, shoes. sweater. coat. cold.
wish you were a bird. remember you
are not you, now. you are you
a year from now. how does that
woman walk? she is not sick or sad.
doesn’t even remember today.
has been to Europe. what song
is she humming? now. right now.
that’s it."

— Marty McConnell, “Survival poem #17” (via words-in-lines)

  1. theforwardviolet reblogged this from sexular
  2. breaktheworld reblogged this from someclevermoniker
  3. py-r-0-m-a-n-i-a-c reblogged this from abutterflyexposed
  4. someclevermoniker reblogged this from sexular
  5. alina-beat reblogged this from bluelikemorning
  6. abutterflyexposed reblogged this from sexular
  7. fr0mthehips reblogged this from sexular
  8. bluelikemorning reblogged this from sexular
  9. sexular reblogged this from gammasandgerunds and added:
    holy fucking shit this is incredibly beautiful and made me cry. it sounds like it came from my head.
  10. 300bc reblogged this from gammasandgerunds
  11. hericium reblogged this from the-final-sentence
  12. iflovebeblind reblogged this from theletterwriter
  13. theletterwriter reblogged this from gammasandgerunds
  14. ashleynicole999 reblogged this from words-in-lines
  15. mcstafa reblogged this from the-final-sentence
  16. This was featured in #Poetry
  17. words-in-lines posted this