Reasons I Left

Excuse the sort of semi-poem/semi-essay form of the following. It's a work in progress, to say the least!

If you think I'm going to take the long way,looping unnecessarily,

and if you think it's because you're sitting there on your bench, stark-eyed,you'd be right.

But it's not because it's you, it's really just that I got excited by the idea of granola bars upon reaching the new world which meant that there was no room in my mind for making friends which really just meant that I hid behind mom when girls with popsicle-stained lips giggled.That's where it started.

It continued and included skorts with buttons too tightly sewn, which really just meant that I felt unfree in the home of the brave which made me realize that I walked with a duckish gait which caused me to shrink deeper inside the buttons and plaids, frantically trying to walk like a normal-born girl.

Well and then I was too folded to unfold and nobody had the patience to help me so I remained, useless origami (origami's exotic and complex and might be pretty to look at, but it's no fun to be.)

And meanwhile there were rulers and a divorce and then movies with incest

which brought up whole new and unfounded reasons to fold.

And so here, do you see? A duck-origami girl shrinking around still thinking about unhelpful things such as damsels, particularly not in distress but in love,

and then mean things started.

From mean things, of course,tears hot as blood and thoughts mangled as muddy prints.

Ridiculous, really, but that's how it was.

Oh, and did I mention all the handshakes,the how-do-you-do's? They teach you these things will help you succeed,but for me, it was one more way of cutting off breathing.

So, eventually retribution came, I 'discovered' myself, like that could make up for still secretly being a piece of paper not in its natural state.

Do you see now why it's not you and your bench?

It's really granola bars and all that came next.