feelings.
they can be your best friend.
or your worst enemy.
but they show up at your door,
at the worst possible time. 
they yell and they scream and they punch and kick,
and they whine until they get their own way.

something sad, you cry.
something happy, you smile. 
but not this time. 
no.
something stressful, you cry.
something upsetting, you cry.
"oh no its normal" they say. 
until you feel nothing at all. 

Before you came to this gray school you dripped in color.

Or that’s what they told you as they scrubbed you charcoal.

They gave you a stale name and sat you down next to me.

When you smiled, your teeth were pearly white with obsidian cavities.

They told me you were sweet inside, and covered the rotting with air freshener.

The next day something sable dripped from your nose and I pretended I didn’t see.

I was shocked. My friend just got diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer. I didn't know what it meant until my parents told me. I had never felt that feeling before. I didn't know this person really well, but you don't have to know the person to feel bad for them.

look both ways before you step onto the tar,
still hot and sweating, blemished with acne like potholes.
look to the right into the gleaming eyes of the snarling wolves
who want to run/after you and over you.
saliva collecting/pooling in the gasoline tank/and dripping onto your shoes.
look to the left so you can see the ring of animals that surround you,
feeding off your hesitance/to step the scuffed edge of your sneaker off the comfort of the pavement.