Busy These Days

Soft and small and

hard like something that's

been whittled away to

their inner rock

and gonna be all right

and gonna get taken care of

by the people I know I don't

need, who can love me.

I coulda been something you didn't need,

but I hope you have fun with the people

who complete you.

I hope I stop—

using the word stop. It's got that aah

sound, on which it's so easy

to take a long, ragged breath, and I—

don't have time for the tears you've

got me crying now. I wish I didn't have

time for the tears you've got me crying.

I wish I didn't have so much time.

___

LYDIA RAE BUSH (she/her) is a poet writing on embodiment, trauma recovery, and social-emotional development. Her work can be found in publications such as Discretionary Love, The Open Culture Collective, and Amphora Magazine. When not writing, she can be found singing and dancing, especially in bed when she is supposed to be going to sleep. Her chapbook Free Bleeding is forthcoming with Manic Pixie Publishing. linktr.ee/lydiaraebush