every time I climbed
(a poem about my cheating ex)
every time I climbed
on the back of your moto
and put my arms
around your waist
did you wish I was her?
and did you ever forget
which one of us
was nestled behind you?
*
Working on a handful of writing projects all at once right now. A book of short, quippy divorce/cheating poems. A longer prose book about divorce + the patriarchy + evangelical christianity. A re-release of this book.
There are a lot of challenges when it comes to writing about people who did shitty things (like my ex-in-laws for example). Some folks like to “take the high road.” But you say “take the high road” and I hear “don’t tell the harsh truth.”
I’ll be asking my paid subscribers to weigh in on some poems before I publish them. Join us for $5/month if you want in on the fun (starting today).
Oof. This poem was good.
When we first got out of the cult (masquerading as a church) we were in, I wouldn’t tell anyone what had happened because it was ingrained in me to “not gossip”. 🙄 Then someone told me something very wise: it’s my story. It happened to me, & I am free to tell it. It changed my whole perspective on it, & I’ve been able to be more open about it now. So I’ve (we’ve) got your back. If they didn’t want to be talked about, they shouldn’t have done shitty things to you. 🤷♀️
writing a poem and publishing your truth is the high road to me. As Emily Dickinson says, "Tell all the truth but tell it slant —"