Enmeshment
Dedicated to my twin
I gave you my agentic key
you dropped it down a drain
that we set on fire
with our invisible longing, burning
to be close
closer than the eye could see
because it felt good
wrapping ourselves in those symbolic blankets
to satisfy the somatic sense
like a mother
dressing to our wounds
the clawing void in one, or two of us
thought we were snuffing it
still didn’t know whose
was whose
puzzle piece have clean edges
not us
I gave you my agentic key
and we lost control when our I’s
snaked their way into a we
baked into one pie
served steaming hot
we lost our path
or I lost mine
I acted like your doctor
embodied the role fully
with an empty bag supplies
I moved the way emotions do
dressing your wounds with
various inner storms
I moved the way emotions move
those fools and tricksters
crying babes and artists
unknotting and weaving
doing that work in a blind panic
invisible
invisible
invisible
Carol Smith
I am an American born in Ukraine. I grew up with an identical twin and wanted to note and express the impact of being so close to her while also experiencing neglect from my parents had on me. I hope readers can relate to the effects of enmeshment. Thank you for reading.
