IRRATIONAL BEHAVIOR
by Jessica DePue

It is neither remarkable nor neurotic that people experience internal conflict. The world of possibilities and the nature of anyone's interest in those possibilities are not, after all, simple matters.
from Psychotherapy of Neurotic Character by David Shapiro

Words rattled off brain tops
Rolled off tongue tips
Better left silent
Wound up, reared back, thrown
In my head the sound of glass
Would have made a musical break
Against the cement barrier
Against the frustration of
Having my voice discounted
By control disguised as indifference
Why is this funny in back recesses
Behind heady scenes I hide a smile
Squelch it like mad, mad, mad
One wayward smile- this is not funny
Misunderstanding, misrepresentation
Mispoke, mispeak, miss silence is golden
I suck it up, hot heavy toxins
Grow faint, hold steady
Draw a bath, steamy epsom cleanse
Open windows to smog-smothered air
Imagine the cause of displaced anger
The force of internal explosions
Crackle, blaze, simmer, blaze
Night is quiet in spite of these sirens
Bath water forgotten
By now having cooled, salty clear
I release the drain, empty it all
By now sound reason failed existence
That pre-exposed box should not have been pried
Its slack jawed rust hinge
Clearly stating
Do Not Open
Open Me Now