Repetition

I need you like I need a lime Popsicle on a hot Chicago day
But god, you give me brain freeze
I bit down too hard and the ice between my teeth grated against my thoughts
I need you like I need to compulsively organize my underwear drawer
In a way I don't really need it
But it makes me feel safe

I need you like I need to cry when things are fucked up
But you never let me cry, so the tears hide behind whispered words of supposed sympathy
I need you like I need air to breathe
But all the air in the room is just carbon monoxide and my body is going numb
Who needs cellular respiration anyway?

I need you like I need to escape from here
But I don't have a map and if I go, you can't come with me
I need you like lying in bed at night not sleeping, just thinking
But I always fall asleep and my dreams are always about you falling down a spiral staircase
I hate to wake up and still see you crumpled on the floor
Bones all backwards like inverse derivatives