Hold On To You Poem by Maya Hanson

I hold on to you like a stairway railing,
like I'm tripping over the first step
I don't know if it's my making or yours

You hold on to me like a crossbow,
I'm defenseless, you string me up
to scare people away

I grow pieces of you with my tears
I try to meld them together with my sharp edges
but they only fit when my glass skin is in shards

I know I could lie but I'm hooked through the mouth
This is madness and shadows rolled up in your eyes

I hold on to you with dementia,
you give me too many dares
and just a handshake
feels like a promise I'll have to leave behind

All you want is too much of everything
All I want is nothing
I don't know if I want to be held or whole