My mother did not break her body open,
she didn't bleed beneath cold white light,
she didn't push us, not my mum, your mum's,
any of us, into this life purple faced and screaming
just for me to think: Um... none of it really matters
unless I'm with someone.
She didn't carry me through nine months
of swollen feet and petrol station pickle cravings
just so I could sit on my bed cross legged at 3am
thinking: Um... I wonder if Jason from Hinge
is like ever gonna text me back or...
just so I could spiral about not being engaged
to a man with nice forearms and a golden retriever.Do you know what I mean? What is that?
Have you ever stood in the middle of your kitchen,
eating mango straight from the knife and called it a love story?Have you ever slept starfish in a bed built for two?
Have you ever walked into a bar alone, ordered a drink
and let whatever song is playing wrap its arms around you like a slow dance?Have you ever held your own shoulders in the shower,
heard your own laugh bounce off the walls of an empty room and still sound full?Have you ever felt holy peeling an orange at sunrise,
danced in a dirty T-shirt for no one but the kitchen tiles?Have you ever laid in the grass arms wide,
let the sun press its mouth to your cheek?Have you ever counted your own pulse
to remind yourself you are still here,
packed a suitcase just to prove you could leave at any time?Have you ever pressed your palm against a train window,
felt the warmth of your own flesh and remembered you belonged to yourself first?Listen, maybe I'll fall in love again.
Or maybe...'cause all these men are wandering around
sticking their fingers in little ramekins of aioli ...maybe I won't.
Either way,
I will wake up,
knock the kettle on,
throw the windows open,
let the air move through me
and know I belong.
You belong to yourself first, Georgie Jonez.