strangers are easy
they don’t gnaw and claw, feast and feed
on the brittle bones deep inside of me
those sensitive places
where flesh meets reality
they stay outside
and snack on what I throw
friends are hard
they gnaw and claw, feast and feed
on the sensitive pieces that I bent
the ones that I try to make sense
of feeling in this carcass I rent
I let them into the caverns I know
family is
they’ve fed from me and I from them
sustaining a life mutualism
trading pieces that don’t always relate
or equate
yet they’re needed to destroy the supposed fate
when we grab on to ourselves
becoming an individual in control
simultaneously we lose our beliefs
and reach that whole
if we want to see it that way.
Or, family can be the stranger our friends the same
protecting ourselves from the claim
‘I may be like you’
grounded and floating
I’ll let the strangers stay at bay
satisfied with whatever I want to give them that day
my friends can chew on my innards
as I wince
just hoping the familiarity with themselves isn’t lost, innocence
we’re all exposed
rotten and free
if we allow the strangers through our mouth and our family just stays in the tree
friends know I am you
and you are me
a we becoming
so, when you’re inside gnawing and clawing and pain is what you hear
or love looks like a place of fear
and beauty isn’t always clear
don’t stop, stare, and jeer
recognize the chards of a mirror
that connects us all
as it draws you near
for strangers are friends and family a meal
let’s sit down and remember to steal
the moments of trust
stay on this blanket
to feast and feed, gnaw and claw
these bodies of ours we need to unthaw
my morning stream 