Numbers

Written January 12, 2011

is it appropriate
that all my life I’ve hated
definition by numbers?
fuck the scale, fuck the grades—
and now,
fuck the years, too.

I hate the adjectives
associated with these numbers
that we bestow upon ourselves.
fat, dumb, old—

really?
these words don’t fix things,
and they shouldn’t change us.

I’m not immune to the fixation,
but I find it fitting that I hate the weight
the numbers hold between us.

tell me it means something
that to me, you are you,
still,
despite the chains
you’ve put on my ankles,
keeping me from running
after you.