what I wasn’t planning on telling you…
is that my life is better without you
the ship didn’t sink when you left
the expedition didn’t drift wildly off course
no harm has befallen my journey in your absence
what I wasn’t planning on telling you
is that the seas calmed when you went
the forest grew peaceful, gold light glowed through dappled shadows
the others journeying the same path lost their jagged teeth and sharp claws (an image only conjured by your warnings)
no, everything got easier and my load was light
as step by step I released overboard the crates labeled “mom’s expectations”
as the pieces of gear I’d been told were crucial for survival fell out of my pack to the warm pine needle covered dirt along the edge of the path
what I wasn’t planning on telling you
is that all I’d been told about blood being thicker than water was never true
that I learned the real saying,
that the blood of the covenant,
of the bonds of friendship,
is thicker than the water of the womb
and that’s why I thrive in the absence of your cancerous reality
what I wasn’t planning on telling you
is that
while I may miss you from time to time
I have no need of you
I am fine.