Bumping Knees

Set aside your reassurances,

because I can't ever truly believe you

when you tell me how much I matter

Because mental illness

does not just go away

by bumping our knees in bed

and claiming me as your own

I know you are frustrated

And I do not know how

to fully convey this to you,

because despite what you think,

your lingering presence 

does not cure me

You are irrelevant to my illness in the same way

that suffocation is irrelevant to anyone breathing