I Chewed Through The Curtains

I wasn’t born I was belched

from a government throat

wrapped in a napkin that said

“best before austerity.”

They taught me God lives in spreadsheets

and kneecaps are negotiable.

They put sugar on the pills,

then taxed the sugar,

then sold the sickness

back to me in bottled ads.

I swallowed my mirror

because the man in it looked

too calm.

Now every time I scream,

it comes out symmetrical.

Mum cried into instant noodles.

Dad ironed flags.

I traced class lines in biro

on my face

and called it eyeliner.

They call it freedom,

I call it a lease.

They call it patriotism,

I call it unpaid grief.

At school they said

dream big

but only if you can afford

the landing.

So I dreamt sideways.

Crooked.

Got detention for it.

Now I move like a debt.

I haunt

the future tense.

I get nosebleeds

whenever I think about hope.

You want my humanity?

Here it is, raw and glitched,

feral and factory-bred,

duct-taped and divine.

I chewed through the curtain.

I bit the hand.

I licked the floor clean

then set the room on fire

just to feel warm.

Author's Note

This is my published piece found here, hope you can relate: https://www.thewordsfaire.com/words/i-chewed-through-the-curtain

Reviews

[Fishysua]

Fit not the standard in form
Fit not the standard in diction
Fit where unexpected
Lots of fits

[Soren]

This is marvelous and voices for many their pent up frustration at society and its chains. It is gritty and raw in its rebellion against authority ad demands for conformity. Very nicely worded it has good flow and holds the mind of the reader. Loved it