A Millennial Tantrum

The reply to someone whose sole response to everything is to throw a fit.

I taught you a

Thousand ways to live

In pinions and palisades

And by a quiet leaf

 

I taught you the depth

Of unearned favor

The unplanned forgiveness

Of the deeply adored

 

I brought you frankincense and honeysuckle

Magnolia and myrrh

All the waking watchful nights

Of my devotion

 

I kissed the caverns of your feet

My lips brushing against

Your scars in reverence

Of your requisite will

 

I taught you worth and season

The politics of hope

The distillation of spirit

All the intoxicating waste

Of rules

 

I taught you the deep things

Careless knowledge

And careful sin

I bought your restless soul

With the blood of my throat

 

I taught you all I knew

I gave you all I had

I danced through a thousand stories

To keep you near

 

And you taught me

A thousand ways to die

 

-Zoe Richardson 

Author's Note

Your time and words are much appreiated!

Reviews

[jacob erin-cilberto]

fantastic piece...damn your poetry just jumps off the page and slaps me right in the eyes and heart.
"my lips brushing against your scars in reverence"
I read that line and thought..."damn, I wish I had written that!"
All give and no receive does not a solid relationship make...but it does make for some vicious heartache.
j.

[Zoe Richardson]

I am sure you will find the perfect line for your next work! Mine just jump into my head, usually because I've misheard something and turned it on its ear to shake out a new meaning. And no, all give and no take does not make a good relationship. He died, leaving me with literally nothing. I turned it into poetry and a fierce determination to survive!