Won't Somebody Please Be Real?
Gabriel Duncan

It's funny to think, you used to hate yourself so much
But now you're all better, denial has made you lose touch
It's strange to see how your avoidancy has work out
And that twitch above your eye is just a funny quirk now
 
I don't think I've ever seen you this happy before
It must be the drugs, the pills, the poppers and all the whores
One very important thing I've learned through my travels
Is it's easier to walk away than to return and face the paddle
 
Of course I'm not angry, just filled with a seething irony
All the emotions that I ran away from are well behind me
It's strange to be the one who always got away
I had a lot of fun, but now there's nothing left to say
 
But you still call at night, asking me if I'm all right
Saying last fall was tight, that you still think of me at night
That's flattering, actually; I guess I left my mark
But it's still strange you're calling me; we broke up a year ago last march
 
But it's important to you know you cared; now that we're both stuck on the island
Feeling lonely, broke and scared; adrift, without asylum
But we can't have back the things we've shared; I've got to strip this bare
 
I just want someone to have a common bond; something that goes beyond just sex
Past the most common gestation, that's my explanation of a boyfriend, really
But every time I have one, my expectations seem silly
 
Saying "I love you" in week two
Getting into fights about having nothing better to do
But how could we expect to settle down at seventeen
When neither one of us knew what being committed means
 
We'd never seen a committed relationship before
My parents never talked; and his father ran out the door
So what else could we do, than run after the idea we adored
It's something we have to address, because the rest is just poetically deplored
 
Expecting perfection, but not willing to make exceptions
And the deceptive conception, that it doesn't feel the same
With the use of contraceptives, but it's the game we play, I guess
Soiling our names and our bodies for a few months of simple pleasure
Of course, it all crumbles away in the fall; with the promise of stormy weather
 
I brought a box of Kleenex, just in-case you wanted to cry
To save the mess of a painful sty; I didn't want to show my pain
I played it off like there was something in my eye
But I was breaking inside; I didn't know how I would get by
 
In the past I would have dropped it and falsely ascended
And used the worn-out cliché's that I'd so wrongly defended
I didn't like him anyway, it was just a fling
But the wounds would stay aggravated, when I would move on to the next thing
 
I'd pretend I was better off alone, better by myself
Where I was truly at home; as my own common wealth
I would pretend to be fulfilled by meaningless, empty, trysts
Meeting with boys, hoping to rebuild, staying out all night
 
And you would do the same, that's the game we play
And I might even call you, to ask if you're okay
Of course, you'd think it strange; we broke up a year ago last may
But you'll say it's good to know I care, that you thought of me the other day
 
It's funny to think, we used to hate ourselves so much
But now we're all better, denial has made us lose touch
It's strange to see, how our avoidancy has worked out
And that twitch about our eye, is just a funny quirk now
 
I don't think we've ever been this happy before
It must be the drugs, the pills, the poppers and all the whores
One very important thing we've learned through our travels
Is it's easier to walk away than to return and face the paddle
 
But it's important to think we cared; now that we're all stuck on the island
Feeling lonely, broke and scared; adrift, without asylum
But we can't have back the things we've shared; we've got to strip this bare
So what else can we do, than run after the idea we adore
It's something we have to address, because the rest is just poetically deplored