Terra Setzler

Emotions and words

Terra Setzler

lost

lost to me

lost without me?

I have my mom and my dad

but i’ve lost a parent

or two

or three

its hard to keep track anymore

I miss those who have left

miss

missing a dollar after my laundry

no, missing isn’t the right word

I know where you are

not here and not coming back

I’m missing you

you were a part of me

like that book you used to read me as a kid

about that little pizza man who rolled along

until he found his missing

slice

out of my life

and that piece is missing from me

Are you missing me?

If so, why

did you leave

I remember the tears on my face that day

someone once said that tears sting

tears don’t sting

when you cry

your nose tingles like you

just drank a root beer too quick

but the tears, those are easy

they glide down your face

waterfalls off a mountain

so large yet so small

a sign that something big has changed

____________________________________

Or in the structure you like

There were no bags in the doorway that night

I still knew you were going to leave me

The look my mom always get on her face

when she’s about to give me some bad news

The words she says don’t really matter now

Yet another will walk out that door, gone

What other people think of a parent

I’m not really sure, I hope its all good

I hope they bake you cupcakes and cookies

Cause I always thought that would be quite nice

Parents can miss your ballet recital

I’ve seen too many to count walk away

I thought I would get away in college

But my mom walked down with that look again

We all have our demons that we must fight

Liquor makes warriors of the broken

We ban together, a fucked-up comrade

I may not have talked to you before now

You may not have seen a parent walk out

But you have your own story to tell me

This is the reason for missing parents

bar-talk and a good margarita mix

Without my parents I could not handle

All the fucked-up times others have been through