Maybe I’m too much teeth and not enough tongue,  

Biting your lips crimson, leaving them  

Swollen and raw 

Teeth gripping the soft inside of my cheek, 

Pulling my mouth with my finger like a fishhook 

To see if my resistance at your words 

Leaves a mark  

I was bit by a dog and I think it feels the same as when 

People leave you behind when  

You tie your shoelaces, 

Like being the third person walking behind,  

Like being told to be quiet,  

The shock, the hiding of tears 

The being asked if something is wrong because  

You’re acting strange, now  

I think I have a habit of howling when I should whisper, 

The interior of a pub on the exterior of a café 

Or is it that I’m not right 

You expect so much of me from one look 

Painting a picture in your head that I can’t match, 

Mainly because I don’t know if it exists  

Because if it did, I’m not sure I could stop morphing into it.