"I don’t want to play follow the leader
anymore.
I have a scar like a crescent moon
on my right knee
from the last time I tried.
I followed a girl into an abandoned
shed,
grabbing tightly to her shirt
so that I wouldn’t fall.
no one ever told me
not to trust so easily.
a rusty nail was jutting out
of the ground
like a reluctant dandelion
and it cut me open
while the girl ran off, letting
my hands slip away from her.
when I fall in love,
I do it with my eyes open,
with my hands in front of me.
do not ask me to walk behind you
while you find yourself.
when the tide comes in
I will not get pulled with it
just because you promise it will
return me to you.
I am not a message in a bottle.
I am not a love letter without
a destination.
when I fall in love, I look it in the eyes,
so do not ask me to grab a hold
of your shirt.
I do not want to play follow the leader
anymore.
I will not follow you to the
ends of the earth.
I will go there myself,
or beside you.
never behind.
never blindly."
