Tension

try so hard to be perfect -
search for an ideal, and stick tightly to it.

stretch the springy bits of your soul,
mold yourself around someone else's needs.

the harder you pull, the more it hurts -
the more it hurts, the less you care.

after a while, maybe, you'll fit better.
soon, maybe your shape will be the shape you want.

you hope.

but you just 
stretch out.
get thinner.
discolor.
snap.

put the pieces back together.
tie knots.
stretch the parts that remain farther.
use glue.

and even if you aren't made sick
by how much less you are,
eventually you get to fail.
but this time, it's not what you were giving
that snaps.

the knots break loose.
the glue doesn't hold.

you lose.
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(o) =o= _A_ oI-- o-O-o O .n. P iO