“So tiny dancer, beware – we’re medicated and scared This smile is so hard to wear So turn away from the ones who hurt everyone I can tell by your smile you’re coming undone And you’re fading with every day… There’s so much left in the air, So much to tell from your stare.” -Seether… Continue reading ‘She Doesn’t Smile Much’
CW: I describe unsanitary conditions for childbirth in this post…not sure if that’s a specific trigger for people, but thought it still deserved a warning. “Pull back the curtains Took a look into your eyes My tongue has now become A platform for your lies.” -Cage the Elephant My dad was playing his guitar, and… Continue reading Born to Breed
“That’s not despair you’re feeling, it’s the petulant reaction of a wounded child And that’s not the door I’m looking at, it’s an escape hatch to the zeppelin we’re inside… This ain’t an insult, it’s the clearest truth I’ve ever had the misery to speak These aren’t words, these are the terms of my surrender… Continue reading When a Child is Taught to Hate: My Version of the Alicia Story, Part 2
“I’ve been trying to justify you In the end, I will just defy you.” –Dream Theater, ‘Honor Thy Father’ It started with fights, and I’d never heard my parents yelling. I would be in bed already. Alicia had missed her curfew again. Dad was yelling at her. I crawled out of bed and hid at… Continue reading When A Child is Taught to Hate: My Version of the Alicia Story, Part 1
“Don’t give me love, don’t give me faith Wisdom nor pride, give innocence instead Don’t give me love, I’ve had my share Beauty nor rest, give me truth instead.” -Nightwish Imagine growing up in a house where the salt was labeled “sugar,” and the sugar was labeled “salt.” Then you make friends, and they talk about… Continue reading The Love Label
Note from April 9, 2021: This post was first published on October 27, 2014. I just found it this morning among my unpublished drafts, and decided to write a note here for the 468(!!) of you who will be getting this old piece of writing among your emails today. I take your attention seriously and… Continue reading Appreciating the Ride
“On prie pour sauver les apparences (To save someone from losing his appearance) Par moment oublier toutes les distances (In this moment you have to let go of all the distances) Sans répit je pense et les silences (Without a break I think, and all the silence) Dissimulent la souffrance de vos absences (The hidden… Continue reading ‘I’m Sorry You Lost Your Kids.’
“I want to become brave and courageous Not buried in self-pity of my own Ashamed and alone from all That’s been done to me It’s not my fault, I remind myself” -Plumb My parents weren’t exclusively abusive. I don’t think they were the worst parents ever. Before I learned about the subtleties of abuse, I’d… Continue reading Of Course It Wasn’t All Bad
This is the third and final part of a series. Click here to read from the beginning, or here to go to part 2. Trigger warning: child abuse “Icy roads beneath my feet, Lead me through wastelands of deceit, Rest your head now, don’t you cry, Don’t ever ask the reason why.” –Opeth When Tangled… Continue reading How a Logical Girl Talked Herself into Fundamentalism, Part 3
Trigger warnings: child abuse “I could fight this, but I may die. And all I want is [to] be the apple in your eye Well I could stay here, strap on my face Listen to the words that put me in my place.” –Pendulum I was a curious child. I wanted to know how everything… Continue reading How a Logical Girl Talked Herself into Fundamentalism, Part 2