elopement.
growing up it was as though i were preparing for a stick look-alike contest. creating uninteresting, boxy lines for limbs so long they felt clownish. hiding in broad shoulders so deeply i junctioned between off-set collarbones and a red-painted jaw clenchedsotightly i t was as if i got so hungry i wanted to break off my own teeth and swallow them. i couldn’t count the number of times i was told i’d be the perfect runner. i would disappear into myself even more while explaining “i was no good” at sports. every time i would pump my arms and lift my legs my entire body felt so much heavier than the meager 115 lbs of cortisol and despair the scale read me as. i joined swim and track in hopes i would get it together. i made my final act and vanished from all expectations. every other week i had to catch friends up with new jobs, apartments, and ...
