How can I help you
when I cannot help myself?
I don’t mean to enable you,
but I do.
I don’t mean to encourage you,
but I do.
I don’t want to ignore your bad habits,
but I do.
I don’t want you to use me,
but I do.
I see all your issues
lying out in front of me,
looking me in the eye,
but I cannot stop them
when I don’t have the energy
to face my very own.
I’m a mess,
but you are too.
How can I help you
when I cannot help myself?
Plastic bags are only
good for one thing-
carrying other people’s shit.
I’m a plastic bag.
By all means,
keep putting all of
your issues on me
so there is no room
for my own.
Wish you were here
so we could kick our feet up
after a long day of work
and share our war stories.
Wish you were here
to share meals with
because your company
is superior to Netflix.
Wish you were here
to drink some coffee
so I do waste almost
an entire good pot.
Wish you were here
to remind me it’s okay
to feel stressed and defeated
at the end of the day.
Wish you were here
so we can spend time
decompressing with
card games and walks.
Wish you were here
so I could see you smile
and the way your face light up
when you laugh.
Wish you were here
so I could hug you
and more importantly,
so I wouldn’t have to miss you.
They say if you don’t like the life you’re living, change it,
but what you can’t?
What if you put all your energy
into overcoming obstacles that make you miserable,
but you still can’t change your life
because it’s out of your control?
If you don’t like your job, they say find a new one.
You can spend hours dropping resumes
and filling out applications.
You can even go on dozens of interviews,
but you can’t make someone hire you.
You can stay optimistic,
but it only lasts for so long
before rejection letters start to feel personal
and you suffocate from failing to be enough.
I don’t like the life I’m living,
but nothing it’s out of my power to change it.
Baffy Basics 