The Debt of Goodness

there is no

ceremony

for the moment

you realize

they aren't

clinging to you

out of love

but because

you are the only thing

keeping them

off the floor.

they call it

friendship.

i call it

unpaid

labor.

jealousy

is a slow rot.

it is the way

they congratulate you

with teeth

instead of

lips.

it is the way

they wait for

your light to flicker

just so they can

feel

relevant

in the dark.

we stay

because we think

our goodness

can cure

their hunger.

but selfish people

are a

bottomless well.

you could

drop your entire soul

down their throat

and they would

still ask

why you

stopped

singing.

so

i am

dropping

the rope.

let them

hit the bottom.

let the echo

be the only thing

that listens

to them now.

my exit

is not a tragedy.

it is

a debt

being settled.

i am

the truth

they can no longer

afford

to sit with.