I Am Not a Warm Glass of Milk
A Poem
It’s hard to always be yourself,
but still have to remind people
that not everyone likes the fluff
or the candy-coated answers
to all the questions of the world
I like my answers strong and terse
as in, I don’t want an endless path
of lines to read between
and a long line of strangers
waiting to pat my back
for something I barely did
or for someone to tell me
that my shirt looks good
when it’s clearly on backward
And because I like it like that
that’s also the way I act
and I just wanted to remind you that
I am not a warm glass of milk
Not the perfect before-bed drink
that your mother used to make you
or the room temperature complement
to the plate of also-warm cookies
or the keep your chin up type of guy
and also not the smiling all the time type
which doesn’t mean I am sad or angry
it just means I am not a clown
with a fixed emotion masking the pain below
I am not a warm and fuzzy teddy bear
wrapped in a chenille blanket…
