Trauma’s No Teacher
What beats me to the ground and breaks my teeth
Wants to tell me how to stand, wants to ask me why I don’t smile anymore
What tears me apart and drenches me in gasoline
Wants to act surprised that I’m in tatters and on fire
What lies to me and blinds me
Keeps asking me what it is that I see, honestly
How serpentine does my silver-spray-painted tongue have to slither
To inject an ounce of truth into a lie pretty enough for you to hear it
John Maurer is a 26-year-old writer from Pittsburgh that writes fiction, poetry, and everything in-between, but their work always strives to portray that what is true is beautiful. They have been previously published in Claudius Speaks, The Bitchin’ Kitsch, Thought Catalog, and more than eighty others. @JohnPMaurer (johnpmaurer.com)
