The Seven Stages of Grief | Depression

The Seven Stages of Grief

v.              Depression

After you left, I used your towel for a week,

I cannot get clean from you.

«

Someone once told me,

“Never settle for a love that feels anything less than magic,”

But when I reached my hand inside,

I found there were no more rabbits left for me to pull out of this hat.

«

I go to work like nothing is wrong,

Smile smile smile,

Meeting meeting meeting,

Type type type,

Dinner dinner dinner,

When I get back to my hotel room,

It’s,

Sob

Sob.

Sob.

«

When the weekend finally comes,

I cry so hard I can’t speak,

The tissues deteriorate onto my fingertips,

I should have just let the tears hit my hands,

Free form,

The barrier is nothing more than a mirage.

«

I am,

Cloth,

Wet paper,

Mucus stains.

I am,

Fluid,

Liquid,

I am not,

Solid.

«

Every bite of food I take feels like I am forcing it down my throat,

Against my will.

Since I left you,

It’s harder to white knuckle than ever before.

«

My phone feels like nothing more than a bright box I keep by my side,

You no longer live inside it.

«

I tell myself,

You can’t miss something that’s not there,

What will be for me will come,

Our paths may merge again some day.

I tell myself all of the mantras,

I can’t tell them apart from your lies,

It all sounds the same to me.

«

What if I never stop loving you?

What if my eyes stay swollen forever this way?

Do you remember when you said that I had stopped telling you, ‘I love you,’ after a certain day?

It was because your response was to nod your head like you’d won something,

Instead of saying, ‘I love you, too.’

«

Being with you,

Was like being robbed of beautiful moments,

Like a red wine stain on a wedding dress,

Like a beautiful eulogy the deceased will never hear.

«

You know,

I’ve missed you in so many cities,

London,

Paris,

Amsterdam,

San Francisco,

Los Angeles,

Maui,

You know,

You were with me in them all.

«

I am sick thinking of you with another woman,

Will you ask her to scratch your back, too?

Of course you will,

You’ve always known how to get your needs met.

«

Do you think of me while she draws her fingernail streets across the cities of your skin?

You’re always exactly who you are,

So,

Probably not.

«

Nothing shows someone’s true colors,

Quite like the fear of loss.

You stole from me.

And I was a fool.

I was kind.

I carefully placed the melatonin and sleeping pills I had bought for you into a ziplock baggie,

And even though I thought about keeping some for myself,

I refrained,

Because I had bought them for you.

Now,

I lay awake, restless in New York City,

Announcing to no one,

“And for my next trick,

I’m going to mix depression medication with Xanax and a bottle of wine.”

«

Sadness is the hardest emotion to explain,

It feels so cliché.

At one point,

I shout,

“I DON’T WANT TO DO THIS ANYMORE.”

But,

Nothing changes,

Other than the fact,

I’ve said something out loud.

«

On day 9,

I wash my hair,

It turns from brown to blonde,

It wasn’t my roots showing,

It was dirt.

«

On day 9,

You post photos of your smiling,

Vibrant,

Beautiful,

Face,

Onto a dating app.

“Just for friends,”

You lie.

It’s your move,

You forget I know your secrets.

The manipulation had worked on me,

I was just your friend once, too.

«

I put my face so deep into the pillow that when I gasp for air,

I pull the fabric deep into my throat,

Choking,

Just in a different way.

I did this.

I did this,

I did this,

I did this.

I broke up with you.

Undo,

Undo,

Undo.

«

I gave you everything.

And it still wasn’t enough.

There’s nothing left to go back to.

I have nothing left to give.

«

I’m the only person who fell in love with a narcissist,

And didn’t get love bombed.

«

I grew so you didn’t have to,

Took the blame so you could remain scot free.

I paid figuratively, mentally, emotionally, physically,

Literally,

Only to leave in the end.

And I can’t help but to think,

If it’s not you,

God, I always wanted it to be you,

Who will it be?

«

Who will ever love me now?

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The Seven Stages of Grief | Reconstruction

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The Seven Stages of Grief | Bargaining