I would take a bullet for anyone who works at the taco bell closest to my house
CW: Sexual Assault
he is a good son, the best even,
dutifully bound to the protestants
who did a nice enough job raising him.
he can not fathom how I do not feel
the same, looks seasick when I tell him
how many holidays I’ve skipped,
says family is everything
which I agree with but not how he means it.
he is obsessed with his own
bloodline
and why shouldn’t he be?
they seem like real
lovely people.
to everyone who has ever passed out
in a gutter, dry humped an ugly republican
to make rent, wrote something dirty
on a bathroom wall, shoplifted to survive,
shoplifted to pass the time, felt hated
by their own parents, taken a 4 hour bath,
forgotten to shower for 2 weeks, forgotten
their own rape, forgotten to call
home for a year, confessed romantic
feelings for someone over email, sobbed
on public transportation, gotten high before
church, missed walking home at night when
they were younger and less afraid, scrubbed
toilets for minimum wage, scrubbed dishes
for minimum wage, scrubbed floors for
minimum wage, taken a shot of well whiskey
on their fifteen minute break, begged God
to exist, been called “bro” by someone
they gave head to, and/or paid $20
for a Friday the 13th tattoo instead
of going to therapy: I love you and you
are welcome at my christmas
anytime you’re in town.
Angelina Martin is a poet, comedian, and waitress who lives in Austin, Texas. She has been published in Sea Foam Mag, Be About It Press, and Okay Donkey Mag. Most days you can find her oversharing on Twitter under her government name (@angelinaJmartin) or napping next to a body of water.
