My Promise

I kept my promise. I stayed true to the person you prayed to. Is he alive yet invisible like you? Every conflict creates another human being I apologize to after I judge. Because they breathe with me. They feel the plastic and cement. The clothing that has meaning when placed upon someone’s skin. The dust that’s formed by the same skin but remains untouched.

You told me I need to quit smoking. I don’t need to. I have to. But it’s not just a bad habit. It’s my companion. A smoke with some bland pasta I reheated. A smoke while taking up five-day-old trash. A smoke while shivering because I rather sleep on ice than call a repairman.

I feel you sometimes when I watch a father hold his daughter’s hand. He strokes her thin, blonde hair that’s half up with a little pink bow. She asks him if she can have a new doll. She already has too many. But this doll is different. It’s exceptional. It will make her complete. Her father buys it knowing fully well the doll is only one of the million things s…