Those Judeo-Christian values
they poked and stuck me with
have left their mark long after
I threw them away
I don’t believe in evil and
I don’t believe in hell but
there’s a thing stuck in my ribs
that is fighting my last chance
for the therapeutic approach
to take control and set me free
Something about blood
something about giving too much
something about love unhyphenated
somebody born at Christmas
somebody too dumb to know better
something about self-love that still
rubs me the wrong way
put your mask on first,
give up on those who won’t help themselves,
focus on you– we continue to fight
because I refuse to let it sink in
such good advice
for the wrong broken planet
The 365 Poetry Project 