Therapy popped you out again
like a rotten vegetable in the garden—
the twelve years
I spent as your sponge,
and now, the boxes I’ve spent
too much time going through
while you sip matcha lattes
bought with the green money of my soul.
You insect,
still squiggly on the microscope slide—
but, as therapy goes,
I’m meant to look,
rummage through the ghost files,
craft taxonomy from crazy.
But, from the way I see it
now, buzz off—
you should be the one
in here.
© 2025 Jennifer Wagner
Oh dear me, can I ever relate! But there is this, eventually: last evening I happened to think of something my person was fond of saying, and suddenly i saw it in all of its pathetic absurdity and started laughing. Not bitterly, but really laughing! That was a good moment!
ReplyDeleteIsnt it the truth? "You should be the one in here." Absolutely!
ReplyDelete"bought with the green money of my soul..." And that is an expense that creates a long-lasting debt that sucks you dry. A clean, honest and hard-hitting poem.
ReplyDeleteThat feeling when you want to look away but you're forced to look, examine, only to realize that the best therapy is escape. You are so good at wedding imagery to emotion, Jennifer. Amazing poem!
ReplyDeleteMy goodness, I didn't know whether to giggle or cry. Your poem brought back so many memories of "my therapist & Me." I enjoyed it immensely.
ReplyDeleteTherapeutic indeed! Sometimes it seems we do have most of the answers
ReplyDeleteThis resonates with me. I wasted money on therapy. They dig in a box they know nothing about, and think they have the answers to why you grew such a collection.
ReplyDeleteThis is terrific. Love the language, the sharpness. Well done.
ReplyDeletescalpel sharp, Jen ~
ReplyDelete