Narrative Poetry

Ain’t ‘Bout You

Go on now

It ain’t ‘bout you no matter how much you try to make it ‘bout you it ain’t

When I fell off that jaded ol’ nag bloodyin’ my chin and needin’ some 14 stitches from some 30-something at Guhrie Pop-Up clinic it weren't ‘bout you

It ain’t ‘bout you

I told you that when I was done I was done no use thinkin’ I gonna change my mind not after what you chose to do, not after that and all them shenanigans with my paycheck

MY PAYCHECK

Nah, you do what you want whenever you want I don’t care BUT not on my dime

It ain’t ‘bout you

this ‘bout me ‘bout what I want what I want to do how I want to feel and I want to feel good again feel like — like … like I used to before you drained me dry like a butt-cheek-showin’ roto-rooter man

you wanna keep goin’ in some gawd awful circle doin’ the same damn stupid thing over and over you go, boy you go

’Cause I don’t care not no more too many days gone by now ‘bout it bein’ ‘bout you

today, that changin’ ’cause it ain’t ‘bout you

Go on kitchen door bangin’ beggin’ for one more chance dumb-ass-dimwit ain’t no opening for you in my life it been steel lever locked and loaded

Ain’t ‘bout you

Even when I cold and shiverin’ ’cause you didn’t pay the damn electricity not pickin’ up that phone no more ain’t lettin’ you crawl like a rodent through the crack in my heart

Ain’t ‘bout you ’Cause I finding me puttin’ me back together like I was ‘fore I met you ain’t tradin’ this peace for your chaos

Ain’t ‘bout you

I’m makin’ my space not bloodied by you so go on keep walkin’ in that circle of cigarette butts and crushed Miller cans ‘round and ‘round

Sure, take off thinkin’ you goin’ somewhere in that beat-to-shit Chevy a broken front bumper covered in dried deer fur full throttle predator to same ol’ nowhere

from here on out —

Ain’t ‘bout you.