Never Break

 

 

long-limbed

big red mouth

you’re no ballerina in a jewelry box

no, not you

tiara askew

smeared eyeliner

fake lashes falling off

you live to mock the candy-coated strait-

jacket of womanhood

that you will gloriously never break your

bones trying to fit into

I can hear your soul

in my car stereo

“I always wanted to die, but you kept me

here alive…”

 

Why are we still here, Courtney?

Maybe we never really wanted to die after

all

Maybe what we really want is for all the

electricity

all over the world to shut off

all the haters on the internet

all the loud and pompous TV personalities

all the top 40 hits

if they could just shut the hell off and shut

the hell up

you and I could have some peace

 

peace doesn’t come easy for people like us

 

you know what it’s like

to be made of fire

you know what it’s like

to burn and scream

you know what it’s like

to be a girl

coming of age sexually at a time when sex

could kill you

you know what it’s like

to feel ugly and betrayed

you know what it’s like

when all the great legendary men of

rock’n’roll don’t

 

I find peace

when I hear your voice

because you are made of fire

because you know what it’s like

because you remind me I am brave and

strong

and that no one

can break me

 

I wrote this poem about Courtney Love many years ago. I think it was around the time she was on VH1 Behind the Music, talking about her husband, Kurt Cobain’s, suicide in 1994. She cried and said, “It’s stupid. It’s stupid. Just live through the moment.” That quote, along with the fact that I have such loving people around me, has gotten me through many bad times. By the way, she is an amazing musician in her own right, you should check out her and her band Hole!